BAE Systems to begin final RAAF Hawk upgrade
BAE Systems Australia has inducted the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF's) final Hawk Mk127 aircraft into its Williamtown maintenance facility ahead of upgrade work, the company announced on 24 October.
The project to upgrade the 33 aircraft fleet began in 2016. The completion of the upgrade of this final aircraft in 2019 will mark the completion of the Lead-In Fighter Capability Assurance Program.
The Australian Hawk Mk127 enables the RAAF to train aircrew for the cockpits of combat aircraft including F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornets, F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.
The upgraded Hawk will allow the RAAF to also train pilots for the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter. The RAAF has been conducting new introductory fighter courses with the upgraded Hawks already in service.
Each upgraded Hawk aircraft provides new training capabilities including simulated radar, EW, digital mapping, ground proximity warning system and traffic collision avoidance. The upgrade also includes the replacement of two legacy synthetic training devices with three full mission simulators provided by CAE.
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