GBP300M Contracts to Service UK Hawk Jets Sustain Hundreds of Engineering Jobs

March 28, 2016

We have been awarded three servicing contracts worth almost £300 million to support the UK’s fleet of Hawk fast jet trainer aircraft until 2020.

The contracts sustain more than 600 jobs with BAE Systems and Babcock in North Wales, North and East Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire.

Under the agreements, the two organisations will provide a range of services to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) to support TMk1/1a and T2 aircraft operations at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire and Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose in Cornwall. RAF Valley is designated as the hub of support services.

The servicing contracts cover aircraft maintenance, fleet management and technical and engineering support for the jets. This is in addition to modification and obsolescence management along with the maintenance of master documentation.

Peter Jones, Head of Hawk UK Availability at BAE Systems said: “These contracts will allow us to continue to deliver end-to-end service for our Hawk customers. Currently we ensure that 95% of the Hawk fleet is available at any one time and we are confident in our ability to continue to deliver this. Together with our service delivery partner, Babcock, we have managed to improve the level of support service offered to our customers and reduce the costs of their Hawk fleet. These contract awards demonstrate the excellent relationship between BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence.”

Hawk is the advanced jet trainer at the heart of the training system which prepares the Royal Navy and RAF’s next generation of pilots for life in fast jets. Using advanced airborne simulation technology and a new generation of cockpit environment provides a smoother and more cost effective transition to the front-line for pilots.

Hawk has been used to train more than 20,000 pilots in air forces across the world with more than 1,000 Hawks now delivered or on order.

Source : BAE Systems PLC (LSE: BAES.L)