BAE pense présenter le Hawk dès que l'USAF aura émis ses demandes exactes.
BAE To Bid Hawk For USAF T-X
BAE Systems is planning to propose its single-engine Hawk trainer as the U.S. Air Force begins to move slowly toward a competition for a T-38 replacement.
The average age of the T-38 last year was 42 years, but financial pressures in the Pentagon are forcing the Air Force to push off its plans for a replacement until 2012 at the earliest.
BAE’s announcement came Sept. 8, only days before the annual Air Force Association convention next week in Washington. Likely competitors are the twin-engine Aermacchi M346 and the Lockheed Martin/KAI T-50. Boeing also has left the door open to designing a trainer for the Air Force.
BAE announced its plans to be prime contractor for a T-X bid after a “good visit” with the Air Force to discuss its potential requirements, says Sam Cole, the company’s capture lead for the program. Though the program is not likely to kick off for a couple of years, a notional in-service date of 2017 means bidders must start assembling teams in an effort to quickly respond once a request for proposals is issued.
BAE is beginning talks with potential U.S. partners. The aircraft would be assembled in the U.S., but a location has not yet been named. Neither have any partners. And it is unclear how much U.S. content would need to be added to the aircraft.
Though Air Force requirements have not been finalized, Cole says that thus far company officials feel no modifications will be needed to the Hawk design for the U.S. mission.
An “off-the-shelf buy” would keep cost of the procurement down, Cole says. Hawks are now being produced in the U.K. and India. Customers also include Australia.
The Air Force is looking for an end-to-end training system, including ground-based simulators. Cole says the BAE offering allows for instructors to inject virtual threats and sensor returns for pilots as they are flying. A health-monitoring system also will be included on the aircraft to provide more efficient logistics management, he says.
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