BAE Systems

The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 99

which it carried a total of 86 guest pilots.
Despite stiff competition the Hawk was
selected by the US Navy and the contract
was awarded to McDonnell Douglas as
prime contractor, with BAe as major
sub-contractor. The new aircraft was
designated as the T-45 and later became
the Goshawk.
When evaluating the three YT-45As
test Goshawks, the USN identified major
deficiencies, a high stalling speed,
insufficient thrust, and poor stability in
various flight configurations. To counter
these adverse characteristics, airbrake
operation was improved, the fin extended,
nosewheel undercarriage doors closed
after extension and the Adour’s thrust
increased. Even these modifications did
not assuage the Navy dissatisfaction, so a
full-span wing leading edge slat was
introduced and a small horizontal fin,
positioned in front of the tailplane
allowing an increase in the size of the
flaps.
The Goshawk became a radically
different aircraft to the Hawk, needing
costly, time-consuming modifications.
Though the US Navy’s original order for
over 300 was whittled down to only 187
by budget cuts, it was still a sizeable fillip
for the BAe Samlesbury and Brough
factories which shared the sub-contract
production for the USN Goshawk.

Improved Hawk for two -

the Hawk 100

Launched in 1982, the two-seat Hawk 100

was an enhanced ground attack/

advanced training aircraft equipped with

inertial navigation, head-up display and

weapons-aiming computer, optional laser

or FLIR, and improved cockpit controls

and displays, all linked by 1553B digital

databus. External load was increased to

3,265kg. It introduced major aerodynamic

improvements; the much-improved

Combat Wing incorporating a slightly

larger leading-edge radius and a very

small amount of leading-edge droop,

together a heightened fin with a RWR

fairing and smurfs ahead of the tailplane

which allowed the reinstatement of the

full width double-slotted flaps. It also

received aft-fuselage strakes which gave a

5-10% increase in take-off lift and helped

to stabilise the aircraft for weapon aiming.

It had a lengthened nose to incorporate a

superior weapon avionics and the

number of stores attachments was

increased to seven and optional wingtip

missile launch rails, which were specified

by some customers.

Hawk development machine

G-HAWK/ZA101 become the

aerodynamic prototype for the Hawk 100

and flew in October 1987. It was not a

Series 100 prototype in full, as the longer

nose was mocked up out of alloy and

plywood and it was only capable of

carrying Series 50 avionics. The first

fully-representative Series 100 Hawk

prototype was ZJ100 which was the

359th Hawk built and flew in October

1991 at Warton. The first order for the 100

came from Abu Dhabi with an order for

18, the first of which were received in

1993 and others followed from Oman

which ordered 30. More orders followed

from Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada and

Bahrain.

Single-seat Hawk 200

The single-seat version of the Hawk was

planned by HSA in 1975 but only

developed by British Aerospace nine

years later. In the 100/200 series BAe

managed to maintain the impressive

6,800lb carrying capacity on seven

weapons stations while updating the

leading and trailing edges of the wing to

increase lift. The new aircraft had a 30%

increase in lift through most of the flight

envelope, and particularly in the combat

areas.

The single-seater had a totally new

nose section and repositioned nose

wheel but in all other respects it

aerodynamically represented the Hawk

100. The manufacturer envisaged that
     with its radar’s air-to-air and air-to-surface
     modes it had a comprehensive range of
     roles, including airspace denial, close air
     support, battlefield interdiction,
     photo-reconnaissance and anti-shipping
     strike. The aircraft had some 80% airframe
     commonality with the two-seat Hawk 100
     and was powered by an uprated, 26kN
     Adour 871 optimised for hot ambient
     conditions. It had an internal armament of
     two 25mm or 30mm Aden guns in a new
     front fuselage. The redesigned nose could
     also house a laser rangefinder, FLIR sensor
     or a multimode radar.
     The Hawk 200 would have a loiter
     time of about four hours, 100 miles from
     base. The logic was that an air force could †

Hawk – 40 years of refinement

‡ A Malaysian Hawk 108 and two single-seat Hawk 208s. (BAE Systems)