Hawk Program Under Fire For Delays

[aimarraul]

Hawk Program Under Fire For Delays

Apr 23, 2010


By Neelam Mathews

NEW DELHI — Controversy continues to surround India’s delayed effort to purchase Hawk Mk. 132 trainer aircraft.

Charges and countercharges have been made over the past year between vendor BAE Systems and Indian government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), which had promised to manufacture a certain share of the Advanced Jet Trainer after BAE delivered the initial batch.

Of the 66 Hawks ordered, BAE Systems has delivered all 24 aircraft in flyaway condition promised to the Indian air force. Delivery of the remaining 42 AJTs was scheduled from 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 in a phased manner.

To date, HAL has manufactured 12 aircraft. “Delivery delays have been an exasperation for the Indian air force,” an official told Aviation Week.

Answering a question in parliament April 22 on why deliveries have been delayed, Minister of State for Defense M.M. Pallam Raju said three aircraft were to be built from semi-knocked down (SKD) kits, three from completely knocked down (CKD) kits and 36 from the raw material phase.

“The CKD and SKD kits were assembled on schedule,” Raju said. “When production in raw material phase was taken up, it was found that the equipment supplied by the OEM had various shortcomings. The assembly jigs that were supplied did not meet the requirements, there was mismatch in the kits/components supplied, there were defects in major assemblies like the wing spar, etc. These problems took time to overcome and hence affected the production schedule at HAL.”

BAE has in the past rejected HAL’s assertion that BAE had not delivered all material stipulated under terms of the license-build program. Reacting to Raju’s statement that BAE had supplied defective equipment, a BAE spokesman told Aviation Week: “BAE Systems’ Hawk AJT is performing well in the service of the Indian air force and delivering excellent training to future frontline pilots and superior serviceabilty. BAE Systems is confident in its performance on the Hawk contract and has made it clear to HAL it is willing to assist them in any aspect of their Hawk contract. We would be happy to also discuss this with [the defense ministry] and address any concerns.”

Raju said the air force was not facing any acute shortage of trained pilots and the delay in delivery of the HAL-built Hawks was not affecting training. “[The] Indian air force is meeting its requirement by utilizing the existing resources for training of pilots,” he added.

Hawk trainer photo: BAE

 

[ejaz007]

Updates and Related Events


April 22/10: In response to a Parliamentary inquiry by Rajya Sabha representative Smt Mohsina Kidwa, Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju continues to blame BAE Systems for HAL’s late delivery of Hawk AJT jet trainers, and also claims that IAF training is not being compromised:

“Delivery of 42 (Hawk-AJT) aircraft was scheduled from 2007-2008 to 2010-2011 in a phased manner. Three aircraft were to be built from semi-knocked down (SKD) kits, three from completely knocked down (CKD) kits and 36 from raw material phase. The CKD and SKD kits were assembled on schedule. When production in raw material phase was taken up, it was found that the equipment supplied by the OEM had various shortcomings. The assembly jigs that were supplied did not meet the requirements, there was mismatch in the kits/components supplied, there were defects in major assemblies like the wing spar etc. These problems took time to overcome and hence affected the production schedule at HAL.

HAL has manufactured 12 aircraft till now, three in the year 2008-2009 and nine in the year 2009-2010, including the first aircraft from raw material phase. The Air Force is not facing any acute shortage of trained pilots and the delay in delivery schedule of AJTs by HAL is not affecting the Air Force. Indian Air Force is meeting its requirement by utilizing the existing resources for training of pilots.”

When asked by DID to respond, BAE Systems had this comment:

“The BAE Systems Hawk AJT is performing well in the service of the IAF and delivering excellent training to future frontline pilots and superior serviceabilty. BAE Systems is confident in its performance on the Hawk contract and has made it clear to HAL it is willing to assist them in any aspect of their Hawk contract. We would be happy to also discuss this with MoD and address any concerns.”

That places India’s current Hawk Mk.132 fleet at 36 aircraft: 24 delivered direct from BAE, 6 built from kits, and 6 HAL-built planes.


Nov 5/09: BAE announces that it has delivered the 24th and final BAE-assembled Hawk AJT to India. It’s actually a bit of a technicality, because HT001 was the first IAF Hawk to be built, and served for 3 years as a UK flight test platform, instructor training program, and proving ground for integrating new components into the IAF Hawk fleet.

The first IAF Hawk delivery took place in November 2007, and other than this final development aircraft, deliveries of the other 23 to India were completed in 2008. The Hawk fleet is based at Air Force Station Bidar, located lightly NW of Hyderabad in Karnataka state (formerly Mysore), south central India.

India Opens 2nd Round Jet Trainer Buy to Competition