A pair of Hawk T2 aircraft from the RAF’s IV Squadron undertook a series of planned exercises in temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) to showcase Hawk’s capabilities in testing conditions.

The demonstration included low level sorties and extended taxiing designed to exacerbate the temperature and prove Hawk’s ability to operate in conditions typically found in the summer months in the Gulf.

Hawk is the most proven military fast jet trainer in the world with more than 1,000 aircraft ordered and having delivered more than four million flying hours, training pilots across the Gulf and beyond.

Peter Kosogorin, a Hawk and Typhoon test pilot from BAE Systems Flight Operations, said: “We were exceptionally well supported by the team from the RAF’s IV Squadron which enabled us to carry out all the necessary exercises to demonstrate Hawk’s capabilities.

“Not only were we able to show Hawk is capable of carrying out all the necessary exercises at high temperatures, the support team from the RAF consistently turned the aircraft around in under 40 minutes demonstrating its flexibility and efficiency.”

Hawk has been the training aircraft of choice in the Gulf for decades and is operated by air forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman to prepare their Typhoon pilots and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait have the aircraft as part of their training pipelines.

Its advanced airborne simulation technology and next generation cockpit design puts student pilots at the controls of any combat aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, F-16 and also F-35, delivering a seamless transition to the frontline at a fraction of the through-life cost of its competitors.

Release BAE System

Photo Rob Vogelaar