United Kingdom Ministry of Defence - BAE Hawk

The BAE Systems Hawk is a British advanced jet trainer which first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. It is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft. The Hawk is still in production with over 900 Hawks sold to 18 customers around the world.

n 1964 the Royal Air Force specified a requirement for a new initial jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat. The SEPECAT Jaguar was originally intended for this role, but it was soon realised that it would be too complex an aircraft for initial jet training. Accordingly, in 1968 Hawker Siddeley began the design of a much simpler strictly subsonic trainer, the HS.1182. It was to have tandem seating and would be capable of carrying armaments, which would enable it to be used as a weapons trainer and in light combat roles.

Renamed "Hawk" in 1973, the aircraft first flew in 1974. It entered RAF service in April 1976, replacing the Gnat and Hawker Hunter in the advanced training and weapons training roles respectively. The following year Hawker Siddeley merged with other British aircraft companies to form the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe), which subsequently became BAE Systems upon merger with Marconi Electronic Systems in 1999.

The most famous RAF operator of the Hawk is the Red Arrows aerobatic team, which adopted the plane in 1979. The Finnish Air Force aerobatics team, the Midnight Hawks, also uses the aircraft.

The Hawk has excellent maneuverability, and while it is not capable of supersonic speed in level flight, it can attain Mach 1.2 in a dive, allowing trainees to experience trans-sonic handling without the cost of a supersonic trainer.

The Hawk subsequently replaced the English Electric Canberra in the target towing role.

The Royal Navy acquired a dozen Hawk T.Mk 1/1As from the RAF, for use as aerial targets for the training of ships gunners and radar operators.