MICHAEL PHELAN / RAF VALLEY
BAE Systems is looking at packaging the offer of leased Hawk 128 advanced jet trainers with a possible upgrade of the Royal Air Force's Hawk flight simulators as part of its bid for the UK's Military Flight Training Systems (MFTS) requirement, which is due to be submitted to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by 19 October.
The UK defence contractor is looking at ways to strengthen its tender and see off potential competitors, such as Bombardier, which operates the NATO Flying Training in Canada programme. The UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) has stipulated that Hawks should be the jet trainer of choice in the MFTS contract.
The BAE-operated Hawk Synthetic Training Facility (HSTF) at RAF Valley, Anglesey, is in its second year of operation training about 90 fast-jet pilots a year for the MoD. Should the Hawk 128 find its way to Anglesey as a trainer, BAE will have to upgrade the HSTF simulators to a digital flight deck standard, from the current older-generation cockpits.
The MFTS contract will potentially be worth over £9 billion ($14 billion) over its projected 20 to 25-year duration. It will be funded as a private finance Initiative and managed by the DPA. The winner will provide the capital investment for all facilities and resources and will assume the running costs of the system, in exchange for receiving guaranteed levels of business from the MoD.
HSTF operates on a similar basis, with BAE having invested £20 million to establish the facility and the MoD guaranteeing business to cover 80% of running costs. The remainder can be accrued from additional MoD business or marketing the facility to third parties. BAE Systems director of operational training Dave Osborn says BAE is keen to market the HSTF's spare capacity to other customers, targeting Hawk Mk50/60 users.
Source: Flight International
