BAE Systems nets Indian deal for jet trainers

NEW DELHI, July 29 (UPI) -- BAE Systems has won a contract to supply products and services for another 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers to be built under license in India.

Under the $700 million deal 40 Hawks will go to the Indian air force and the navy will get 17 aircraft.

The final terms and conditions for the contract were signed by Guy Griffiths, group managing director international at BAE Systems and BAE Systems Chairman Richard Olver.

As with previous aircraft, the British single-engine, tandem-seat Hawk trainer will be manufactured in Bangalore at the facilities of HAL, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

HAL was formed in 1964 and has 19 production units and nine research and development centers in seven locations in India. It manufactures a dozen types of aircraft as well as another 14 models produced under license.

The Hawk first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk and has been adapted by some clients for use as a low-cost fighter. Around 900 Hawks have been sold around the world.

The first Hawk entered Indian service in November 2008 and HAL had built 24 of the aircraft under license by November 2009. Further manufacturing was on hold pending discussions between BAE Systems and the Indian military over the cost of servicing and parts.

For the new contact with HAL, BAE Systems will provide specialist engineering services, the raw materials and equipment necessary for airframe production and the support package for the air force and navy end users.

BAE Systems India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gallagher said HAL is the premier aerospace company in India and the new contract will boost India's trainer capacity for several types of fighter aircraft.

"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," Gallagher said.

Also present at the signing was British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on an official visit to the country, his first since his Conservative Party and Liberal Democratic Party coalition government was formed after a general election in May.

Earlier this month India's planned long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft, the P-8I, was a step closer to being reality when Boeing signed off the final design review at its U.S. offices.

The P-8I, based on the Boeing 737 commercial aircraft, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy.

India is the first customer for the P-8 outside the United States.

Completion of the final design review locks in the design for the aircraft, radar, communications, navigation, mission computing, acoustics and sensors, as well as the ground and test support equipment.

The review also paves the way for the program to begin assembling the first P-8I aircraft.

"For P-8I, we are incorporating not only India-unique design features but also India-built subsystems, so this agreement that the design addresses all customer requirements is a huge milestone," Leland Wight, Boeing's P-8I program manager, said.

"We are on track to start fabricating the P-8I's empennage section before the end of this year."

During the 5-day review in Renton, Wash., Indian navy officers met with Boeing representatives to review relevant design information and performance against specifications.

The P-8I contract worth around $3.1 billion was signed in January 2009 and first deliveries will take place in early 2013.