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| India-Pakistan |
| Indian Navy may purchase BAE Hawk trainers |
| 2006-08-24 |
| The Indian Navy is considering purchasing 18 Hawk 100-series advanced jet trainers (AJT) from the British defence corp. BAE Systems according to aerospace journal Flight International. Furthermore the Navy is continuing talks with the British Government over the possible acquisition of 8 ex-UK Royal Navy BAE Sea Harrier FA2 fighter jets. Around 30 Indian navy pilots recently underwent pilot training at US facilities using the services Boeing/BAE T-45 Goshawk trainers - developments of the Hawk - under a collaborative agreement. The service hopes to acquire 18 new trainers for in-country instruction ahead of operations using its RSK MiG 29K carrier-borne fighters and Sea Harrier FRS51's. The latter are to undergo modernization by Indian Aerospace Giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), including the integration of Israeli Elta EL/M-2032 multimode radar and Rafael Derby beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles. The surplus FA2's are to be delivered without the radars or air-to-air missiles. "BAE Systems is aware that the Indian Navy has a requirement for an advanced jet trainer and with the Hawk AJT recently being selected for the Indian Air Force we believe the trainer is well placed to meet their requirements," the company says. BAE won a $1.7 billion contract in early 2004 to supply the Indian Air Force with 66 Hawk 132Y trainers. The first 24 of which will be manufactured in the United Kingdom and delivered by 2008 end, while the rest are to be built by HAL and inducted into the Air Force between 2008 and 2010. |
| Posted by:john |
| #2 I vaguely recall some previous Rantburg posts which discussed the deathtraps currently being used by the Indian Air Force - maybe they were MiG-21s, or regionally-produced copies thereof? It's nice to see them getting modernized, we'll need the Indians on our side when Pakistan goes Islamicist... |
| Posted by: WhiteCollarRedneck 2006-08-24 20:26 |
| #1 Around 30 Indian navy pilots recently underwent pilot training at US facilities 32 pilots received carrier takeoff-and-landing training on Goshawks at the US Navy's Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida. Ironic that they will serve on a Russian built aircraft carrier. India has operated carriers for decades and feels they are more competant at carrier ops than the Russians. Hence the US training. It was Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, who convinced Nehru in 1955 to purchase the then uncompleted carrier HMS Hercules. This quite displeased the Russians... In 1957, the Russian Defence Minister, Marshal Zhukov, visited India. In Cochin, Rear Admiral RD Katari, the Fleet Commander, invited him to a banquet on board the flagship. In his memoirs, "A Sailor Remembers" he recalls: (Page 83). "From the moment Marshal Zhukov, stepped on board, he virtually impaled me against the centre-line capstan and demanded to know why we were acquiring an aircraft-carrier. Resisting the temptation to tell him that it was none of his business, I tried to explain to him the reasons which induced us to do so, but he could not, or would not, accept them. The discussion was obviously reaching a point of exasperation to both sides but the climax came when Zhukov made the provocative observation that we were buying the carrier at the behest of the British and to please them." |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-24 18:34 |