BAE Systems remains hopeful of closing a third deal to sell Hawk advanced jet trainers to India, which has so far committed to acquiring 123 of the type.
"Deliveries of materials and equipment in support of licence production of the 57 Batch 2 aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics [HAL] continue to schedule," the UK company says in a half-year trading update published on 1 August.
To be assembled at the Indian firm's facilities in Bengaluru, these will follow a first batch of 66 UK-built trainers. These were delivered to the Indian air force between 2006 and 2012, says Flightglobal's MiliCAS database, with one having been destroyed in a crash in 2008. Forty of the aircraft contained within the second order will enter air force use, with 17 to be introduced by the Indian navy.
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"A proposal has been submitted to HAL for the third batch of [20] Hawk trainer aircraft for the Indian air force, and discussions with the customer continue," says BAE. The company in mid-2012 revealed that the aircraft could be acquired to re-equip the air force's Surya Kiran aerobatic display team, which previously operated HAL-built HJT-16 Kiran jet trainers.
Source: Flight International
