BAE Systems Australia's project to upgrade the entire fleet of Hawk Mk127 aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force is nearly complete.
Upgrade of the final Mk127 will deliver in 2019, capping the country's Lead-In Fighter Capability Assurance Program, a key component to RAAF's fast-jet training.
The upgrade includes new full mission simulators and more Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation, pods, which record the in-flight information for the Mk127.
RAAF has began using the Hawk aircraft that have been upgraded for training
The Australian Hawk Mk127 fleet has helped the fast-jet training system since 2001, enabling the RAAF to train aircrew for combat aircraft such as F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornets, F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.
The upgraded Hawk aircraft enables new training capabilities that include simulated radar, electronic warfare, digital mapping, ground proximity warning system and traffic collision avoidance. The upgrade also replaces two legacy synthetic training devices with three full-mission simulators provided by BAE.
"The upgraded BAE Systems Hawk aircraft provides the RAAF with a similar capability as the most modern Hawk aircraft around the world," Gabby Costigan, chief executive at BAE Systems Australia in said in a press release. "It's been a benchmark program in terms of how BAE Systems Australia and UK engineering teams, together with industry partners and RAAF technicians, have collaborated to deliver this enhanced capability ahead of schedule."
