Flight International online news 11:30 GMT: The first in a series of shakedown flights for the MOD’s Hawk Mk 128 Advanced Jet Trainer was made on Wednesday at the BAE Systems facility at Warton, Lancashire.
“It was a real pleasure to fly,” said chief test pilot Paul Hopkins, shortly after the 78 minute-long flight.
The jet is the first of two Hawk Mk 128s being developed by BAE Systems as part of a contract with the MOD Defence Procurement Agency awarded last year.
The Mk 128 features a new open architecture mission system which has been designed to allow future upgrades without the need for extensive system redesign and clearance.
It is powered by a Rolls Royce Ardour Mk951 engine which has a target thrust of 6,500lbs and a time between overhaul of 4000 hours.