104 AIR POWER 201721 ST CENTURY CAPABILITIES
21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPSBAE Systems explains how industry works alongside the
Royal Air Force and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that
fast jets are always available when they are needed
FAST TURNAROUND
W
ith a history that can be traced back
almost a century, the partnership
between BAE Systems and the
Royal Air Force (RAF) is the product
of almost constant evolution. Over the past
decade or so, this partnership has deepened
further, with industry and the RAF working
together to ensure aircraft are available to secure
our skies whenever they are called upon.
This is evident today at RAF Coningsby and RAF
Lossiemouth, where the blue-and-grey overalls worn
by BAE Systems personnel are visible alongside those
of the green-clad RAF crew supporting the Typhoon
fleet; and is replicated in support of the UK fleet of
Hawk training aircraft at RAF Valley and RAF Marham,
where our fast jet support on Tornado continues.
Martin Blaze, Aircraft Maintenance and Support
Director, explains, “BAE Systems has gone from being
a company which simply provides aircraft to one
that goes beyond the production line to deliver aBAE Systems was
recently awarded a
five-year contract
for the continued
support of the Hawk
T1 and T2 fast jets
(PHOTO: BAE SYSTEMS)solution that increases the availability of the aircraft.
All this enables the RAF to focus on what matters
most, whether that is a Typhoon responding on Quick
Reaction Alert or a Hawk taking off on a training sortie
to prepare a pilot for life in a fast jet cockpit. Support
is part of our DNA today and we are now building on
this experience with the UK’s current fleet to deliver the
next chapter of this partnership, providing support for
the F-35 Lightning aircraft which will arrive in 2018.”TYPHOON AND TyTAN
The past 12 months have seen the latest
evolution of this support partnership with the
award of contracts to continue our support on
Typhoon, Hawk and the F-35 Lightning.
Last year, BAE Systems launched the next
generation of our support for Typhoon, the TyTAN-
Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTan) service, a
10-year partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MOD)
to transform support for the UK’s fleet. According to
Richard Hamilton, UK Typhoon Delivery Director, “Our
aim to drive out around 40% cost savings in support
will enable the MOD to reinvest £500 million of those
savings into Typhoon future capability, and ensure that
Typhoon remains relevant, credible and potent into the
future. Beyond that, we are setting the benchmark for
fast jet availability contracting, as well as making our
export offerings more competitive and compelling.
Furthermore, the work we have done, and the work
we are doing, is helping to inform the way the UK’s
F-35 Lightnings could be supported in the future.”
Hamilton continues, “TyTAN is an innovative contract
that shows the benefits of enterprise collaboration
between BAE Systems, Defence Equipment & Support
(DE&S) and the MOD in providing the taxpayer with
value for money. Alongside this, we were also awarded
a five-year contract extension to continue to provide
in-service support for the UK’s Hawk fleet. This sees our
maintenance teams working as part of the Hawk UK team
alongside Babcock International to ensure sufficient T1