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The tour started at Asian Aerospace in Singapore where the Chief of the Air Force in Singapore accepted an invitation to select a number of his leading pilots to fly in the Hawk in Asian airspace.
After its Asia deployment, the Hawk team will return to the UK via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Greece, both of which have a requirement for a number of advanced jet trainers. An invitation has been extended to each air force to provide pilots for further customer familiarisation flights in the new Hawk.
The proven reliability and low maintenance of Hawk means that the aircraft will be self-reliant throughout the tour, with only a limited propositioning of spares in the countries to be visited. A team of only 5 ground crew engineers will support the Hawk flying activities for the duration of the tour.
Commenting on the new Hawk advanced jet trainer's first visit to the Middle East, Mike Rudd Hawk sales director said:
"The UAE has a known requirement for a number of advanced jet trainers. They operate the Hawk at the moment, and we are hoping to impress them with this latest version. The new aircraft is really exciting and it has got two big plus points. First of all there is the tradition of the world's most successful jet trainer, then there's the completely new avionics and training system. When you add other developments like the new Adour Mk951 engine, it makes a superb package."
Following its visit to the UAE and Greece the new Hawk advanced trainer will return to the UK.
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News Editor
