Aircraft

The Indian air force has received its last of 24 UK-built Hawk 132 advanced jet trainers, following a ferry flight made from the BAE Systems Warton site in Lancashire to its Bidar air base.

Aircraft HT001 was the first Hawk to be manufactured for India at BAE's Brough facility in Yorkshire. It first flew in December 2006 and had subsequently been used to support development activities for the 132-standard aircraft. It was also used during the training of Indian air force instructors in the UK.

© BAE Systems

The aircraft - which BAE says is the 860th Hawk to have been delivered - was flown to Bidar by company test pilots.

"Hawk has brought a step-change in pilot training capabilities for the Indian air force," says Michael Christie, senior vice-president India for BAE's Military Air Solutions business unit. The flight-development programme for the Hawk 132 was completed on schedule and to budget, he adds.

Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics is in the process of assembling a further 42 Hawks for the nation's air force. The service lost one of its new aircraft to an accident in April 2008, when its crew was forced to eject following an aborted take-off at Bidar.