The Hawk trainer operated by the RAF has featured in several reports for Celtic News over the years. A series of catastrophic crashes in Wales, Cumbria and the Isle of Man over the years, not to mention more frequent incidents such as forced landings due to mechanical failure mean the aircraft is frequently in the news.
The Celtic League first drew attention to the aircrafts chequered operational record back in the early 1980s and since that time in RAF service the attrition rate for the aircraft has seen approx. 20% of the 180 procured.
However in addition to its domestic record (The aircraft, based at Valley, exercises over parts of the Irish sea, N. Wales and N. England.
Its main airfield is at Valley on the Island of Anglesey but it also uses the commercial airfield on the Isle of Man for simulated landing and takeoffs.) the aircraft has something of a reputation as an 'export earner' for the United Kingdom.
One of the largest export orders was as part of the now infamous 'Al Yamamah' deals with Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdoms Serious Fraud Office conducted an investigation into a series of corruption allegations that had been reported in the press since September 2003 in relation to the 'Al Yamamah' deals. However, the UK government, in a move since criticised internationally by the OECD, discontinued the investigation on 14 December 2006 on grounds of the 'public interest'.
Off less notoriety, but in terms of kudos much more important to the United Kingdom and BAe, was the sale of Hawk derivatives to the United States where the aircraft is built for the US Navy as the T-45 Goshawk.
When the US contract was being brokered in the 1980s we wrote to several prominent US Congressmen drawing their attention to the problematic record of the Hawk in RAF service up to that point. Despite these warnings the Goshawk programme went ahead and immediately ran into problems. Indeed, from the award of the contract in 1981 it was seven years before the derivative prototype flew and another three before production commenced. The US Navy has plans to procure approximately 230 and up until this year 200 of that order had been delivered.
However, the same jinx that bedevilled the Hawk in RAF service seems to dog its US counterpart. In two months from end September to early November this year three of the aircraft were lost in accidents just the latest in a series of such accidents.
Perhaps in hindsight the US Congress should have paid more heed to that advice we passed to them all those years ago!
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
17/11/07
■