HAL signs MoU with BAE Systems for Hawk Mk132 upgrade and development of combat Hawk

HAL inks pact with BAe Systems for Hawk Mk132 Upgrade
Anil Urs

M N Shrinath, GM-Aircraft, HAL, and Steve Timms, MD-DITS BAES, signing an MoU for Hawk Mk132 Upgrade and other work packages in the presence of T Suvarna Raju, CMD-HAL (extreme left) and Chris Boardman, MD-MAI (second from right) at Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Bengaluru, May 26:
HAL has signed an MoU with BAE Systems UK for Hawk Mk132 Upgrade, development of combat Hawk for Indian and export markets and maintenance solutions for supporting Jaguar and Hawk fleet.

Speaking on the occasion, T Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL, expressed confidence on the success of the proposed collaboration between HAL and BAeS. “It is important that both the teams finalise the scope of Hawk Mk132 Upgrades and other work packages under the MoU agreement at the earliest,” he said.

M N Shrinath, General Manager - Aircraft, signed the MoU on behalf of HAL, while Steve Timms, Managing Director - Defence Information, Training and Services, signed on behalf of BAES. Chris Boardman, Managing Director - Military Air & Information, headed the BAES delegation.

HAL inks pact with BAe Systems for Hawk Mk132 Upgrade | Business Line

wow. Nw thats a deal. Hawks will be perfact for CAS role.

The_Sidewinder said:

wow. Nw thats a deal. Hawks will be perfact for CAS role.

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Against whom ? Afghan Taliban or TTP

Manindra said:

Against whom ? Afghan Taliban or TTP

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ISIS...

The_Sidewinder said:

ISIS...

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Thats why, a stupid decision to waste public money.

Hawk has a good range ; decent payload capacity

We can also put a SAR pod on it

It is better than a UAV

@Abingdonboy @sancho

Your views are needed here

How BEST we can use our Hawks

Stephen Cohen said:

Hawk has a good range ; decent payload capacity

We can also put a SAR pod on it

It is better than a UAV

@Abingdonboy @sancho

Your views are needed here

How BEST we can use our Hawks

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I think many are reading too much into this. The "combat" ability being added to the Hawk are not for any specific military role- they will still be 100% focused on training however these "combat" capabilities can be useful for training budding pilots and also, in an extreme all-out war scenario as a last resort. However the IAF has no plans to take any Hawks away from their primary training role and use them as dedicated attack a/c.

It is similar to the RAF's Hawks have the ability to fire Sidewinders- it is for a worst case scenario but you don't see the RAF using their Hawks for air polling duties or anything other than training in peacetime.

Abingdonboy said:

However the IAF has no plans to take any Hawks away from their primary training role and use them as dedicated attack a/c.

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In the Iron fist exercise ; Hawk was used for bombing

First there was an announcement made that
" Under conditions of Air superiority IAF can use slow moving planes for bombing "

Subsequently both Hawk and AN 32 were used for bombing

what this shows is that IAF is confident of attaining Air superiority

Mig 27 s are retiring and Mig 21 can be used exclusively for CAP roles

This means that hawk can be used for ISR and CAS roles

Stephen Cohen said:

In the Iron fist exercise ; Hawk was used for bombing

First there was an announcement made that
" Under conditions of Air superiority IAF can use slow moving planes for bombing "

Subsequently both Hawk and AN 32 were used for bombing

what this shows is that IAF is confident of attaining Air superiority

Mig 27 s are retiring and Mig 21 can be used exclusively for CAP roles

This means that hawk can be used for ISR and CAS roles

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Iron Fist was about showcasing as much of the IAF's capabilities to the attendees and the public- it was not specifically about showing what the IAF's doctrine will be. Whilst the Hawks can be used for CAS/A2G missions that doesn't mean they will be. As you rightly pointed out the IAF showcased the An-132 dropping ordinance but I think we can all agree this is more about showing the capability to do so rather than demonstrating how they would actually use their assets.


The fact remains 100% of the Hawk fleet are in the training arm of the IAF- they have no primary combat role. But it is smart/prudent the IAF is also preparing for a worst case scenario where an attritional war leads them to bring in untraditional combat platforms. Plan for the worst, hope for the best as they say.


As a combat platform the subsonic and radar-less Hawk who would be in the hands of rookie pilots in many cases are far from ideal.

CAS will be taken care of by the LCA, Jaguars and Mirages.


If the Hawk is ever used by the IAF in actual combat it will be a very dark day.

Abingdonboy said:

CAS will be taken care of by the LCA, Jaguars and Mirages.


If the Hawk is ever used by the IAF in actual combat it will be a very dark day.

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The sky or the Air space is a very HUGE thing ; It is very difficult to patrol it thoroughly 24/ 7

And we already using UAVs for ISR purposes

Hawks can be used for ISR and CAS inside our territory

Suppose a enemy commando company has managed to sneak in
ie para drop inside our border for sabotage purpose

And if a Hawk can spot them ; and alert the base command
and also drop a few bombs on them it can mean a lot in a war

Manindra said:

Thats why, a stupid decision to waste public money.

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On a serious note, hawks can be used as a dedicated CAS aircraft or an interceptor if situation arises. Although we have dedicated srike aircrafts like Jaguars which can fill in this role. Hawks can have some advantages due to its speed & manuverability. But to be honest it will be better if these things is left for Jaguars & LCA. But no harm in preparing for worst. Lets wait till something concrete comes up.

Stephen Cohen said:

The sky or the Air space is a very HUGE thing ; It is very difficult to patrol it thoroughly 24/ 7

And we already using UAVs for ISR purposes

Hawks can be used for ISR and CAS inside our territory

Suppose a enemy commando company has managed to sneak in
ie para drop inside our border for sabotage purpose

And if a Hawk can spot them ; and alert the base command
and also drop a few bombs on them it can mean a lot in a war

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Like I said, the Hawks would only ever be used for anything other than training in very desperate times.


Let's not loose sight of the fact that the biggest advantage this upgrade brings is to the avionics:

Hawk 132 avionics upgrade




Much more in line with the current and future generation of fighter jets the IAF has/will have in service THIS is the biggest capability this upgrade brings. The weapons capability is secondary and too will be useful mainly for training pilots.

The_Sidewinder said:

On a serious note, hawks can be used as a dedicated CAS aircraft or an interceptor if situation arises. Although we have dedicated srike aircrafts like Jaguars which can fill in this role. Hawks can have some advantages due to its speed & manuverability. But to be honest it will be better if these things is left for Jaguars & LCA. But no harm in preparing for worst. Lets wait till something concrete comes up.

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If you need dedicated CAS aircraft then you would go for A 10 like aircraft not a AJT

Manindra said:

If you need dedicated CAS aircraft then you would go for A 10 like aircraft not a AJT

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Agreed. But Hawk can also do the job. plus it can be used to shoot down enemy attack halis & uavs. Both has its pros & cons.

The_Sidewinder said:

Agreed. But Hawk can also do the job. plus it can be used to shoot down enemy attack halis & uavs. Both has its pros & cons.

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When Pantsir-1 can do the same job then why use AJT for it. Money is itching.