HAL delivers first home-built Hawk jet trainer to IAf

摘要

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer to have been built domestically in India to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 14 August. Under a USD1.4 billion contract signed in 2004, the IAF is to receive 66 Hawks: 24 built by BAE Systems and the remaining 42 built by HAL under licence in Bangalore. The IAF has so far inducted 14 Hawks built by BAE Systems. HAL also received an additional order for 54 Hawks from the IAF and Indian Navy in June. A spokesman for BAE Systems, which has been exploring ways of deepening its ties with HAL and with Indian industry in general, told Jane's. "As with all our partners, we continue to discuss how we can work together in the future." The timetable for delivering the initial tranche of 66 Hawks by 2012 was "broadly on track", he said.