Manufacturer says Adour 951 powerplant will extend service life of trainer by 4,000h
Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca plans to launch a re-engining programme for the BAE Systems Hawk based on the new Adour 951 engine.
R-R director of defence aerospace marketing and sales John Boughton says Hawk operators will be able to affordably extend the service lives of the trainers by 4,000h by switching to the Adour 951 from the Adour 151. The upgrade will be targeted at operators that may not have the budget to acquire a new fleet of trainers.
The Adour 951 features full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and 6,500lb (29kN) of thrust, compared with 5,800lb on the Adour 151. Boughton estimates that Hawk operators upgrading to the 951 will lose fewer aircraft because the FADEC allows students to concentrate more on flying.
The Adour 951 incorporates new technology from civilian engines, primarily the R-R Trent family. Boughton says the re-engining involves a "simple" swap of engines and would be done at the normal Adour 151 overhaul interval of 2,000h. R-R does not plan to couple re-engining with any other upgrades because the avionics and airframe have longer service lives.
The Adour 951 has already been tested in South Africa and flew for the first time last year on BAE Systems' New Development Aircraft. The engine will power new Hawks being acquired by Bahrain and the UK, but India has selected 5,800lb-thrust Adour 871s to power its fleet of 66 Hawks.
Boughton says the 871 makes sense for India because of commonality with the Adour engine powering India's Sepecat Jaguars. India's Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) will produce at least 32 of the new Hawks and their engines locally. Boughton says that R-R is also holding talks with HAL to supply Adour components for the global market.
Source: Flight International
