WARTON, England, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- BAE Systems displayed its Hawk advanced jet trainer at the Singapore Air Show last week.
"Over 900 Hawks have been sold across the globe and 25 nations have had fast jet pilots trained on the Hawk aircraft. This includes pilots from the Republic of Singapore Air Force who have attended the NATO Flying Training College -- NFTC -- in Canada to develop their fast jet skills on the Hawk before transitioning to their front-line aircraft including the F-16," BAE Systems said in a statement last week.
BAE Systems said it showcased "the company's demonstrator aircraft which has recently completed a major upgrade program, which brings it to a similar standard to the aircraft currently in production for the (British) Ministry of Defense.
"The upgrade included the installation of a new Mission Data Loading and Recording System -- MDLRS. This enables student pilots to load planned missions onto the aircraft's computers and then retrieve the data collected during their flight when they land. This allows both students and instructors to analyze in detail how well the mission was flown," the company said.
The demonstration aircraft was used to display "its sensor simulation capability, showing how the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer -- AJT -- is capable of interacting with simulated ground based and airborne systems whose movements can be generated during mission planning and loaded onto the Hawk via the MDLRS. In addition real airborne platforms can be brought into the scenario using a system known as Datalink," the company said.
"These capabilities will be incorporated on the (British) Royal Air Force's new Hawk AJT, a total of 30 of which are on order. The Hawk AJT will enter service with the RAF next year," BAE Systems said.
The company said Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Britain's Chief of Air Staff, had piloted a new Hawk and then said: "The difference between the new Hawk advanced jet trainer and the Hawk TMk1 currently in service is hugely significant, in performance and especially in terms of avionic capability."
