The aircraft will be manufactured under licence at HAL’s facilities in Bangalore and BAE Systems will provide specialist engineering services, the raw materials and equipment necessary for airframe production and the support package for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy end users.
Commenting on the news BAE Systems India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Gallagher said, “HAL is the premier aerospace company in India and BAE Systems is proud to be able to build on its long-standing relationship with HAL to deliver a further batch of this excellent aircraft to increase the Indian Air Force’s fast jet training capacity and establish a similar fast jet training solution for the Indian Navy. The Hawk AJT fast jet training solution enables an Air Force or Navy to provide front line pilots for even the most modern fighter aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon or Sukhoi Su-30.”
Guy Griffiths, added, “This new order continues and strengthens the long standing relationship between BAE Systems and HAL. It highlights the importance of BAE Systems’ strategic development of India as a home market, and the benefit of solid Government support.”
What was the earlier hue and cry about inferior jets all about? Did BAE forgot to grease the palms of all our netas, babus and sipahis? Now it seems they have done so, therefore fresh contract for 57 jets. Man, in the name of "defense" this country and it's people are being screwed left right and center by unscrupulous "leaders" some of whom have criminal records and have never been to school. SHAME ON INDIA AND IT'S COWED DOWN PEOPLE.
what to happened to that saga of HAL suing BAe for 10 million US$ for nonn supply of poper jigs and fixtures for the earlier 42n o.s to be manufactured by HAL, non supply of spares, crash of one HAWK due to faulty pitot tube? Buried under the red carpet to Mr.Cameron?Hope history will not repeat again!!!!Amen!!!
A single hawk comes at the price of 27 usd and our LCA costs near about 21 usd. Now we are buying 57 more.
Thank you, for the incredible information that everyone is posting sans fluff. I wonder what the take home of the strictly ethical, righteous, scrupulous commentators is.
Thank you again, "Bharat Varsh Vasis".
Its nice people like yourselves that make India proud, and adorn Bharat Mata her halo. Jai Hind!
To, Anon 5:11 PM ,
You paki get away from here , pak/ISI terrorist Nation.
" earlier hue and cry about inferior jets all about? "
could it have been just a negotiation tactic?
Shiv,
In future we will be having 120+ Hawks. Although using Hawks in war would not be a good idea,but it's ability to fire 4 sidewinder missiles can be utilise for an another purpose. If war brokes out or India launches surgical strikes against pakistan the Hawks, with the help of Awacs & Ballon mounted Aerostate radar, can be used for shooting down cruise missiles.120 Hawks can be divided into 30 flights and they can protect 30 sites with 1 Hawk in air at a time loaded with AAMs and drop tanks.
We have 30 squadrons of pechoras(which will be replaced by akash and other SAMs).These squadrons are for protection of 30 Base Air Defence Zones ( BADZ ) Link- http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Today/Contemporary/328-BMD.html
These 30 squadrons are situated in northen westen & easten india, where the cruise missile attack will be launched against us.
The Hawks can provide an additional layer of cruise missile defence without any additional cost and can reduse burden of
SAM sites.
Congrats AK Antony and Sonia ji, you have made us proud again. Now please sell the parliament house to the Brits.
^^^^ ak
no need for sonias permission brits can come and go anytime
but why didnt we go for complete tot of hawks earlier may be our baboos want kickbacks again and again every time
Before commenting on anything, please read the article(s) fully. India actually got her pound of flesh in this repeat order. See the facts closely.
1. For BAE, this deal is worth 500 Mill GBP, which translates to approx 750 Mill USD. $ 750 M/57 planes translates to $13.15 Mill per Hawk.
2. Compare this with the initial order of 66 Hawks for 1 Billion GBP which translates to $ 1,500
Mill effectively meaning $22.22 M/Hawk.
3. Note that the initial order was placed in 2006 and the new order is placed in 2010. 4 years would translate to a natural raise in the prices of military equipment by itself. Case in point-the Scorpene deal, India is forking out $700 M for equipment originally priced at $400 M in 2005(which was initially planned to be built by MDL, but it could not)In this case, it is not.
3. The reduced cost is not only becuase of the fact that BAE botched the initial delivery and reduced the price, but HAL is manufacturing a higher percentage of the components that go into the Hawk. Note that this is also a significant win for HAL in terms of improving its capability to service the Hawk in future and use the learnings in its "Sitara" trainer. In addition to cost savings, that is. So, if say, 80% of the aircraft was imported earlier and 20% was
made in India, the plane cost would be say Rs 100. Now, if 40% of the plane is imported, 60% is made in India, the plane cost would be Rs 75. Why? Because, parts made in India are cheaper, than parts made in UK (That is one of the major reasons the Indian IT industry is so strong globally). Who gains? India. Becuase it gets a plane for 75 bucks instead of Rs 100.
4. All in all, BAE treated HAL badly while servicing the initial 66 plane order-there is no question around that. Why it did that, given the fact that India is probably the market BAE should be very focussed on, i have no idea. But, based on the articles and the numbers that are being bandied around, India got its pound of flesh.
To all couch-potatoes, who pass judgements before understanding the numbers and terms-Please know the topic fully before commenting.
Whatsoever it is and howsoever it was brought, but this is a long sought occasion in the history of the Indian quest for the IJTs.
However I feel sorry, if it is costlier than Tejas.
What's with all the pointless Britain-bashing? The jingo community has needlessly poisoned the minds of our public.
The Hawk is a good trainer comparable to all other models in use(btw the Royal Air Force itself relies on it) today. Maybe it could use an engine upgrade but that's it. IAF needs trainers urgently and initiating another MMRCA-like 5-year circus would cause many needless pilot deaths.
Besides, having standardised their training programme for the Hawk there's no point giving the IAF the headache of adding another trainer type.
And lastly, since the Hawk assembly line has been transferred from UK to India, it's partly an indigenous plane now. HAL can team up with BAE and market it to other countries.
Excellent follow-on acquisition!!! Makes complete sense to go with what is possibly the best jet trainer in the world as of date.
It's funny, we took close to 20 years to actually finalize on the BAE Hawk trainer. I wish decisions could be taken faster as in this 2nd procurement deal.
With regards to the Navy getting 17 such trainers. Not sure if this is a good idea, assuming that our naval aviators whould be training to step-up into the MIG-29 KUB fighters. It would make more sense to go for the US manufactured T-45C Goshawk which is suited for carrier landings.
when will the HJT Sitara enter the service???buying foreign aircraft is okay but why when we can make our own aircraft of similar capabilities???
Folks ,
Just assume for a moment we are honest . 100 hawks represent a significant addition to the point defense fleet when war comes . With Mig 27 going the Mig 21 way and Jaguar well into menopause these hawks can very well serve as light attack component with buddy buddy refueling . Hawk 100 & 200 can also be purchased in smaller numbers to fill in the Mig 21 & 27 gaap with the right avionics and armament . From what I read , the MMRCA may come when all of us are playing the harp – meanwhile let us not gripe . If I were a solah driver , I would be worried if two or three hawks with pythons/micas/R73's were lurking around ready to pounce .
Let us welcome the hawk and pray for a 155 mm also. Well thats' another story.
Of course Brits can come and go anytime as India is the creation of British and the parliament building and Rashtrapati Bhavan was built by them. The party in power is controlled by an Italian lady who even after marrying the son of India's PM (who later on himself became PM of India) wasn't even a citizen of this country till few years back.
It seems the Brits are back to their old tricks i.e. buying Indians by throwing few miserable pennies at them aka "baksheesh".
Hi,
could you please do an article on the status of HAL HJT-39 also Combat Attack Aircraft (CAT). Did anything happen of ADA's Lead-in-Fighter-Trainer (LIFT) based on the LCA?
Also what is the status of HTT-40?
I think a lot of us enthusiast would love to know about it and there is hardly any news about the same!
Thanks in advance.
Indranil
Again, what's with the retarded Britain-bashing? If we bought Russian trainers would you be making comments about Indira's daughter-in-law still in Soviet Union's pocket?
HJT-36, if it ever becomes operational, is a Stage 2 basic jet trainer. It does not fulfil the role of an AJT.
Anon@8:20 PM
Your assertions and assumptions are wrong from the word go.
You assert that because 4 years have passed Hawks should have become expensive. This is plain bullsh*t. As the systems becomes older it becomes cheaper not expensive. Indian Hawks are older version Mk 132, the latest ones being Mk 200, so there is no way BAe can sell both at the same price point. What we are getting is an older generation hardware. Going by your logic the F-16 should cost equal to F-22 because the prices have risen since it's induction nearly 40 years ago.
Also, look at the global financial crisis that has stumped the European economies. Even the Eurofighter is now being given at a much better price due to the exchange rate fluctuation. The same applies to Hawk also.
You are from BAe PR, aren't you?
I think most of the comments are point less. I feel the deal a needy one for the IAF as well as for the Navy for training their pilots to handle future jets.
As long as we are unaale to make one by ourselves, we don't have anyother option, but to buy from outside. Also the aircraft is partly indigenous.
So as far as I am concerned, the deal is better late than never.
I simply dont understand why do we need 273(150 + 123) trainers for a force with roughly 580 fighter/bombers? There is something quite fishy in this entire deal.
Besides this we have our own AJT program, why splurge on foreign jets?
Isn't it far more cheaper to train pilots on simulators rather than real jets which burn costly aviation fuel when crude prices are 80$ a barrel (projected to spike upto 200$ a barrel)?
Anon 9:37 pm
HJT Sitara? When last heard, the pilot forgot to put the stoppers in front of the front tyre while taking photos for a magazine and the aircraft started moving by itself and banged the hangar doors damaging the wings. HAL managed to keep it under wraps. And, what was the great Indian media doing?
When last heard, the pilot forgot to put the stoppers in front of the front tyre while taking photos for a magazine and the aircraft started moving by itself and banged the hangar doors damaging the wings.
It is not a pilot's job to put chocks in front of tires. Do you think that at airports around thw world the pilots get out of the cockpit to put and remove chocks before and after every flight? Get a clue.
Very good news! Good luck!