hawk t2 advanced jet trainer in raf service

8/18/2019 Hawk T2 advanced jet trainer in RAF service

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P a u l H e a s m a n

INTERNATIONALFor the best in modern military and commercial aviation

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. a i r i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m

Reprinted from the January 2013 issue of AIR International

Next-Gen

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The Hawk is so familiarin Royal Air Forceservice it may seemunworthy of attention.No longer. At RAF

Valley in North Wales, the homeof UK fast-jet pilot training,

there is now in service the nextgeneration of the long-livedBAE Systems advanced jettrainer – the Hawk T2, whichis significantly changing thetraining of RAF and Royal Navycombat pilots.

Background

The fast-jet pilot of today flyingan aircraft with an advancedcockpit is a manager of systems,expected to comfortably handleand interact with large amounts

of information about his orher aircraft, mission and widerbattlespace. Countries haverealised they need to updatetheir fast-jet training to preparetheir pilots more effectively forthese demands.

The UK was no different.With the wide gap betweenthe analogue cockpits of the30-year-old Hawk T1s usedfor fast-jet training at Valleyand the sophistication of theTyphoon, Tornado GR4 and

now-retired Harrier, the Ministryof Defence (MoD) recognisedit had to act. Although the T1,with its sports-car handling andsparkling performance, was stillgiving sterling service, it was farremoved from the technologies

pilots encountered whenleaving Valley on postings to theTyphoon, Tornado and HarrierOperational Conversion Units(OCUs).

In response, the MoD inJuly 2003 selected the BAE

Systems Hawk Mk128 AJT(Advanced Jet Trainer), withits modern glass cockpit, asits preferred successor to theT1. A design and developmentcontract followed in December2004 before BAE Systems was

Mark Broadbent reports from RAF Valley on howthe Royal Air Force’s new Hawk T2s are providing

a quantum leap in fast-jet training

Next-Gen

TRAINING TO FIGHT

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desk top trainers (DTT), flighttraining devices (FTDs) andfull mission simulators (FMS),the DTTs and FTDs beingsupplied by Lockheed Martinand the FMS by CAE. Ascentworked on the design of theself-contained facility thatwould form the new home oftraining at Valley – housing theGBTE, classrooms with videosand interactive smart-boards,the 28 Hawks and engineeringsupport. Ascent also recruitedQualified Instructors (QIs), whoin instructing on the GBTE wouldwork directly alongside RAF andRN Qualified Flying Instructors(QFIs). The QIs consistedentirely of ex-military pilots, allwith experience working as QFIsat Valley and on the front line.

All this activity underscoredthe principles of UKMFTS – theprivate sector not only providinginvestment in equipment,facilities and people the MoDwould find hard to financeitself, but also the concept ofcivilian contractors workingalongside military personnelunder the same roof to providetuition to students, rather thanbeing contractors in a separatebuilding. The new buildingwas handed over to Ascent onNovember 1, 2010. It was laternamed the Moran Building,after the late Air Marshal SirChristopher Moran who haddied shortly after inspectingits construction in his capacityas Commander-in-Chief of AirCommand.

Paralleling this work, Ascentand the RAF were building thesyllabus and courseware forstudents and instructors whileBAE Systems was working withDE&S on developing softwarethat would form an importantpart of the new Hawk. Thiswork began in June 2008 andevolved over two years into theOperational Capability 2 (OC2)package the Hawk features

now. Meanwhi le the first Hawkswere delivered from the factory,an initial batch of jets arrivingat Valley in mid-2009, with thefleet building over subsequentmonths.

The activity at Valley wascentred around the historicNo.19(R) Squadron, whichwas responsible for providingtactical weapons training on theT1 with initial conversion andfast-jet basics being taught bysister unit No.208(R) Squadron.In November 2011, 19(R) wasdisbanded and renumberedNo.IV(R) Squadron, the famousex-Harrier unit that celebratedits centenary in 2012. The ex-19(R) Hawk T1s moved across to

join the 208(R) pool of aircraft,leaving the shiny new Hawk T2sfinished with IV(R)’s distinctivered, black and yellow markings.Following the delivery of all28 Hawk T2s and full GBTEcommissioning, the first group ofQFIs started training in January2012. The first course of sixstudents began training onApril 2, a second course startingshortly afterwards. They willgraduate this spring as the firstUKMFTS-trained fast-jet pilots.

So, just what changes are thenext-gen Hawk, the new GBTEand ultimately the public-privatenature of UKMFTS bringing toUK fast-jet training?

New Aircraft

Pete Thomson, BAE’s

Engineering New BusinessManager, explained to AIR

International that the T2 wasnot just designed on a blanksheet of paper. The Hawk hasbeen significantly developedover the past 20 years withthe Hawk 100 and 200 seriesvariants and Thomson says the“constant evolution” with theprogressive developments ofHawk Mk127s for the RoyalAustralian Air Force, HawkMk120s for the South African AirForce and Hawk Mk129s for theBahrain Defence Forces was veryimportant in feeding into theT2’s design.

There are not many visualdifferences between the T1and T2 – a longer nose, wingtiprails and a re-shaped tail.However, make no mistake: thisis a completely new jet. “Thecanopy and the airbrake are

the only shared componentsbetween the T1 and T2, but

even those components haveundergone material change,”Thomson said. “The fatigue lifefor T1 has gone up from a 6,000to a 10,000-hour design life.”

This led to some importantstructural changes includingnew, strengthened wingsand tailplane, fin and rudder,undercarriage and nosewheel steering. The wing wasalso redesigned to improveaerodynamic performance andto accommodate more weaponshard points. The fuel tanksize was increased, bird strikeprotection around the noseand canopy improved, a brakeparachute and in-flight refuellingprobe added and the aircraftequipped with new health andusage monitoring systems.

There is a new Rolls-Royce

Adour Mk951 engine featuringfull authority digital engine

awarded a contract in October2006 to supply 28 Hawk AJTs –to be designated in service asthe Hawk T2.

UKMFTSThere had meanwhile emergeda new philosophy about UKmilitary flying training. InNovember 2006 the MoD putout to tender its UK MilitaryFlying Training System (UKMFTS)project. This ambitiousoutsourcing programme aimedto revolutionise the provision oftraining through a Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) between theMoD and a private company.Key objectives were to reduce

the cost of flying training to thetaxpayer and modernise trainingwith new aircraft, infrastructureand learning equipment.

Following a competitiveprocess, the MoD in June2008 awarded Ascent FlightTraining a 25-year contractto be its ‘Training SystemsPartner’ in UKMFTS. Ascent,a 50/50 joint venture betweenLockheed Martin and BabcockInternational, was givenresponsibility for acquiring newtraining aircraft, designing andmanaging revised syllabi andproviding new infrastructureand ground-based training toolsacross all areas of military flyingtraining – elementary, basic,

fast-jet, multi-engine, rear-crewand rotary-wing. Subsequently,Ascent established a facilitynear the MoD’s Abbey Woodcomplex in Bristol where it couldwork directly alongside the RAFand civil servants from DefenceEquipment and Support (DE&S).Underlining the partnership, theentire management structure ismirrored at every level, with acombined board comprising aone-star Director Flying Trainingfrom the RAF and equivalentsenior directors from DE&S andAscent.

New Infrastructure

The urgent need to modernise

fast-jet training was one reasonwhy it was chosen as the firstelement of flying training tobe revolutionised by UKMFTS.With the MoD having purchasedthe Hawk from BAE under aseparate procurement contract(BAE Systems is not part ofUKMFTS), the focus of Ascent’swork on modernising fast-jettraining was the acquisition ofthe new ground-based trainingtools and preparation of thesupporting infrastructure.

Alongside DE&S and theRAF, Ascent worked on thedevelopment of modern GroundBased Training Equipment(GBTE). This consisted of threelayers of simulated training –

1 Students and instructor pilots walk to their awaiting Hawk T2s on the flight lineat RAF Valley. 2 Pilots and lineys (the colloquial term for a flight line operative)

conduct flying control checks. 3 A student pilot prepares to get in the cockpit ashis liney looks on. Paul Ridgway 4 Panoramic view of the full motion simulator

display.5

The Hawk T2 full mission simulator. Paul Ridgway6

The instructoroperating station for the Hawk T2 full mission simulator. 7 Ascent lineys pullHawk T2 ZK026/’Q’ onto the flight line. Paul Ridgway

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There is a good reason for thisbuilding-block process. “TheT2 is a systems aircraft,” Shinnersaid. “Until you understandwhere the systems are, how allthe menus interact, you can’teven start the aircraft.” TheDTTs are therefore critical inhelping students get to gripswith understanding HUDsymbology, using the HOTASand operating the MFDs. Thereare at least 20 functions on thethrottle and another 20 on thestick alone. During each lessonstudents are taught how tomanage the myriad of pagesusing the MFD soft keys andHOTAS controls. “They need tostart learning how to use theirhands to operate the systems,”Shinner said. “You don’t want tobe thinking about that in the air.Everything you can practise onthe ground frees your capacityto perform key tasks in the air.”The students’ laptops have aninvaluable function here. Beingable to dock them with the DTTsmeans students can directly feedthe lessons into their individuallearning, writing their ownnotes and looking back throughvideo tutorials in their own timeto build ‘muscle memory’ inoperating the cockpit.

After ground school, studentsmove through a number ofphases, split between IV(R)Squadron’s A and B Flights.Arriving first on A Flight theystart with a ‘convex’ (conversionexercise) phase learning thebasics of fast-jet flying beforeprogressing through phases oninstrument flying, navigation (athigh, medium and low level),formation flying and tacticallow-level battle formationflying. This is followed by arange phase (involving low/medium-level bombing, dive/loftbombing, dive-strafing, smartweapon delivery and off-rangetactical flying) and finally anintroductory air combat phase of

1 v 1 basic fighter manoeuvres(BFM). There are solos at theend of each of these phases.

Students then move to B Flightwhere they progress to learningfrontline tactics and procedures.Sqn Ldr Rob Caine, who’s incharge of flying standards andstaff training on IV(R) Squadron,told AIR International: “Bythe time the students havecompleted A Flight they will becompetent fast-jet pilots withthe capability to employ air-to-ground weapons and 1 v 1 BFM.B Fight will stretch them intoOCU and frontline-style flying.The emphasis is on Typhoon airdefence mixed with TornadoGR4 close air support.”

The demanding B Flightsyllabus comprises thefollowing phases: basic radarwith Typhoon-style 1 v 1beyond visual range (BVR)engagements involving radarwarning receiver operation;advanced medium-range andshort-range air-to-air missiles(AMRAAMs and ASRAAMs) andcountermeasures, culminatingin 1 v 1 BFM; advanced radarencompassing 2 v 1 BVRengagements developing into2 v 1 air combat; operationaltraining manoeuvres (OTM)at medium and low-level;advanced frontline interdiction;close air support; 2 v 1 evasion/operational manoeuvres; and,lastly, a 2 v 1 self-escort phase.

The structure of the teachingin all these phases has changedsignificantly from the pastbecause of the new GBTE.Rather than having a discreteblock of simulator training inbetween ground school andflying for real, each phase – andits individual elements – now hasa combination of simulated andreal flying (‘synthetic events’ and‘live events’, to use the course-speak).

Looking in more detail atsome of the phases showshow this works. The convexphase on A Flight, for instance,comprises 12 elements including

circuits, handling, maximumperformance manoeuvres(formerly aerobatics), stalling,

spinning, emergencies, flaplessapproaches and some initialinstrument flying. Each of theseelements is now taught initiallyusing the FTDs with tuition fromAscent QIs before a sortie inthe FMS and then a ‘live event’with a QFI. So, for example,initial circuit flying is taughtsynthetically on the FTDs andin the FMS before a studentand instructor fly circuits forreal. The student then goesonto the next element, workingon the synthetics first beforeprogressing onto a real flight.Ex-Tornado F3 pilot Flt Lt StefanBrown, one of the RAF QFIs onA Flight, said: “It’s expected thateach student will be able to doit synthetically before they fly itfor real. By then the idea is that

they just do it with the minimumamount of assistance from us.”At the time of AIR International’s

visit, the first course was aboutto start the low-level bombingelement of the range phase onA Flight. The students wereworking with the Ascent QIsand the QFIs on the basics oflow-level attack profiles, usingthe FTDs to practise managingthe MFDs, HOTAS and HUDfor that purpose. This wouldbe followed by studentsundertaking a full missionrehearsal in the FMS beforegoing on a live sortie.

Such are the capacities of thesynthetics that some elementsof the course are actually taughtcompletely on the groundusing FTDs and the FMS – a bigchange from students havingto fly virtually everything on theT1. An example is basic radar

operation, as Shinner explained:“All the instructional points arebased around the MFDs and

control (FADEC), whichat 6,500lb/29kN thrust ismore powerful than the T1’s5,200lb/23kN. The Mk951also boasts an improved timebetween overhaul (4,500hours), which Thomson says“is a significant improvement”in enhancing the Hawk’sserviceability and, therefore,availability for the RAF.The new Adour has introducedthe only major differencebetween the T2 and the T1 froma pure flying perspective. BAEtest pilot Andy Blythe told AIRInternational: “The engine isvery efficient; it never surges, itspools up quicker and it feelssportier… at the end of therunway or when you’re doingtouch-and-goes in the circuit theengine is far more responsive.”

Apart from that, Blythe saidthe T2’s overall aerodynamicperformance is so similar tothe T1 that differences are“imperceptible”. He added: “Asfar as its handling characteristicsare concerned, it hasn’t changedmuch. Fundamentally it’s stillvery easy to fly. It’s that classicanalogy, ‘if it’s not broken, don’tfix it’. The one step-changeaerodynamically is combat flap.On the T1 you can have half flapor full flap; in the T2 combat flapgives you an extra 12 degreesof flap which you can use in anair combat phase – meaning youcan have the flaps down at 300-350kts, which gives you a bettermargin.”

The CourseTogether the advanced newcockpit in the Hawk and theground synthetics are significantmodernisations of trainingequipment, so it’s hardlysurprising the IV(R) Squadroncourse is, in numerous respects,very different from that taughton the T1.

Take initial ground school.

Traditionally students arriving at Valley would spend six weekshaving lessons. They still do, butinstead of spending time withtheir heads in textbooks, the DTTs,video and smart-boards meanthe tuition provided by Ascent’sQIs is now fully interactive. AlShinner explained: “We mighthave 20 minutes of pure technicallecture but the DTT means we’vegot a full working cockpit on theirdesks, so they can spend the lastten minutes learning it. In thepast you’d have three weeks ofreally dry material and then haveto apply it. Now we’re tryingto do that as we go and buildthe learning in an integratedenvironment.”

ADVANCED COCKPIT

The really critical differences between the T1 and T2are under the skin. The contrast between the cockpitsin each aircraft is stark. The T1’s dials and gauges are athing of the past. The T2 has an all-digital glass cockpitfeaturing three full-colour multi-function displays (MFDs),a head-up display (HUD) and hands-on-throttle-and-stick

(HOTAS) controls. MFDs, HUD and HOTAS were firstdeveloped for the Hawk in the 1990s on the 100/200series variants for overseas customers. Pete Thomsonsays the cockpit developed for the Royal Australian AirForce’s Mk127s “was the real genesis” of the design forthe RAF’s aircraft. Thi s reflects how the Hawk’s continualevolution influenced the T2’s development.The MFDs present a full range of information includingcommunications, navigation and a digital moving map,with key information also presented on the HUD. TheHOTAS provides intuitive controls on the throttleand stick for pilots to manage their avionics. Otherinnovations include a ground proximity warning system(GPWS), inertial GPS navigation and, in a first for anadvanced jet trainer, a traffic collision and avoidancesystem (TCAS).It’s all a long way from the T1’s map, compass andstopwatch. “In car terms, the T1 is like an old MGB –very basic, great fun but lots of dials and pressures – andthe T2 is like a modern sports car,” commented formerJaguar pilot Wg Cdr Kevin Marsh, the current OfficerCommanding IV(R) Squadron. “It looks quite dauntingwith three screens and hundreds of pages of data, butactually it’s simpler. Rather than having to monitorpressures and temperatures the jet looks after itself andwill tell you if something is at fault.” So far, so modern. But the real ly clever part of thenew Hawk is its embedded simulation and emulationtechnologies which, to quote BAE Systems, are“capable of turning the skies into a hypothetical frontlinewarzone”. The aircraft features a 1553MB data linkwhich generates synthetic, or simulated, threats in the

form of hostile radars, aircraft and weapons and allowsa pilot to respond to those threats by ‘releasing’ its ownsynthetic defensive aids and missiles (the T2 doesn’t carrylive weapons, though the aircraft is wired to do so). Theinformation about radar, weapons and defensive aids isdisplayed on the HUD and MFD pages, which the pilot

can manage with the HOTAS controls.Pete Thomson was part of the joint BAE/DE&S designteam that developed these simulation and emulationcapabilities for the T2. He recalls that the RAF from theoutset wanted a very sophisticated system. The specificchallenges were “the amount of data we had to process”and “making sure the simulated data actually reflectedreal sensors and equipment and to make it look asrealistic as possible”.So how were these challenges overcome? Thomsonexplained the process started with a ‘requirementscapture’ that identified exactly what the RAF wantedthe cockpit systems to do. He said the responses tothose requirements were formulated and prototypesystems developed. These were then tested individuallyand together to make sure they would work in the finalproduct. This preceded the systems being matured overtime to create OC2. Underlining the partnership nature ofthe T2 project, the RAF and DE&S worked fully alongsideBAE during every step in this process. “The requirementsfrom the RAF were very specific and we worked veryhard and very closely with them which was tremendouslybeneficial,” Thomson recalled. “It was a good team towork for and understand requirements at a detailed l evel.” The hard work paid off. The Hawk T2 has broughtfrontline systems into the fast-jet training world wherethey simply didn’t exist before. In replicating a frontlinecockpit in layout, feel and operation – it is near-identicalto that of the Typhoon – the T2 has therefore bridged thegap that’s grown in recent years between the cockpitspilots trained with at Valley on the T1 and what theyfound on postings to frontline OCUs.

Rear cockpit displaysof the Hawk T2.

Front cockpit of the Hawk T2.Paul Ridgway

1 Hawk T2 ZK026/’Q’ lifts off the runway at RAF Valley. 2 Hawk T2 ZK031 seen atlow level in the Mach loop in northern Wales. Paul Ridgway 3 The new Moranbuilding was purpose-built for the Hawk T2 at RAF Valley. Paul Ridgway

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HUD when it’s being targetedby radars or missiles – just as it

would for real. The student mustrespond with synthetic defensiveaids (chaff/flares) and missiles. Ifthey don’t respond, or get hit, amessage flashes up on the MFDtelling them they’ve been killed.During the operational trainingmanoeuvres phase, syntheticground radars and surface-to-air missile (SAM) batterieslock onto the student, forcingthem to use countermeasures.The interdiction phase allowsstudents to ‘drop’ simulatedPaveway IV laser-guidedbombs and practise timesensitive targeting. The 2 v1evasion/operational phaseforces students to self-defendusing evasive manoeuvres,

electronic warfare techniquesand countermeasures. The end

of the course is a self-escortcomposite sortie combining allthese skills – fighting BVR on theway to a target against a radarand missile equipped aircraft,undertaking an attack usingsmart weapons amid radar andSAM threats and fighting outagain against more aircraft.

Quite simply, this is aworld away from the T1. Thenew equipment allows IV(R)Squadron to provide whatSqn Ldr Caine describes as “ademanding environment withinwhich students can learn theirtrade”. Indeed, much of the BFlight syllabus – including thebasic and advanced radar, theoperational training manoeuvres,

interdiction and 2 v 1 escort– contains completely new

elements to fast-jet training at Valley. Their introduction hasbeen made possible purelybecause of the new software.On 1 v 1 and 2 v 1 air combatmanoeuvres on the T1, studentsnever had radar and missile locksto deal with which flash up onMFDs and HUD in exactly thesame way as on the front line. Inthe close air support phase onthe T1, ground radars and SAMsnever locked onto them, norcould they practise ‘dropping’a Paveway or use their ownmissiles and countermeasures.All of this is now possible. Andif the instructor feels a student iscoping well with these demands,they can turn up the heat even

more. The independent wiringof the Hawk’s front and rear

cockpits enables an instructor, bypressing the ‘R’ button on theirMFDs, to separate their cockpitand, in Wg Cdr Marsh’s words,“start manipulating things” suchas generating threats the studentisn’t expecting.

This is the value of the newHawk. Students are receivingrealistic combat training – theyare threatened and must actto survive. To all intents andpurposes they’re not flying a Hawkbut doing it for real in a Typhoonor Tornado. Valley’s students,then, are no longer simplylearning the basics of air combatand weaponeering but frontlineprocedures and tactics too.“The result should be a highly-

the operation of the simulatedair-to-air radar. The flying is fairly

benign, so most of this phase istaught in the GBTE.” Equally,however, Shinner emphasisedthat “we don’t pretend theGBTE is good for everything”.Several elements are undertakenin the air with little syntheticinvolvement because theresimply isn’t a substitute for doingit for real. As Wg Cdr Marshobserved, “doing it at five orsix g, the adrenaline pumping,looking over your shoulder” stillmatters.

The rationale of blendingsynthetics and live flyingthroughout the course goesback to the T2 being a systemsaircraft. Wg Cdr Marsh saidthat with so much involved in

operating the MFDs, HOTASand HUD it simply “makes

commonsense” for studentsto spend time workingsynthetically at each stage tobuild confidence and avoidbeing swamped. Here again,the laptops are invaluable.There is detailed courseware foreach element of each phase,whether students are preparingto fly synthetically or for real.For instance, one of the early AFlight convex sorties containsseven pages of material onthe trip’s aims and objectives.Students can look at videotutorials to see how to operatethe MFDs and HUD for that trip.They are able – and expected –to prepare fully for everything.

However, Wg Cdr Marsh

pointed out that, despitethe differences to the T1

course, students would notspend less time flying thantheir predecessors. “Thereis no reduction in flyinghours, we’ve just upped thesimulation,” he said. No.IV(R)Squadron students will spendapproximately 120 hours flyingthe Hawk T2 – pretty much thesame as it’s been on the T1 foryears.

RealismAnd those at Valley say the hoursstudents spend in the air will befar more effective than before.Being able to generate syntheticradars, aircraft and weaponshas led to the most important

change in the provision offast-jet training at Valley – the

ability to set up realistic combatscenarios. Looking at partsof the syllabus in more detailreveals exactly how revolutionarythe simulation and emulation isin the context of fast-jet training.

During the 1 v 1/basic radarand 2 v 1/advanced radar phasesearly on B Flight, the softwareallows hostile aircraft, radarsand AMRAAMs/ASRAAMs tobe generated which lock ontothe student. The threats canbe set up to behave exactlyas they would for real – thesynthetic aircraft threats canbe designated as a MiG-29or Su-27, for example. Thestudent’s radar shows up ‘spots’and ‘spikes’ on the MFD and


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progress, the students can seewhat they did right or wrong andtake away practical points to helptheir learning. There’s also a lessobvious cultural change. Wg CdrMarsh said: “As a student youused to go flying and the guyin the back seat or in the otheraeroplane told you what you did.There were certain things thatwere black and white, but a lot of

it was subjective as to what theinstructor saw.” The debriefingequipment removes subjectivity,as Flt Lt Brown explained: “Wecan get to the bottom of anythingif there’s a different perceptionof what happened between aninstructor and a student. I mightsay: ‘Well you did this,’ and thestudent might say: ‘No, I don’tthink I did.’ Telling the studenttheir perception was wrong, orvice versa, by proving it is theonly way.”

In this sense there’s moreinteraction between studentsand instructors than previously.A by-product of this is thatstudents are now, accordingto those at Valley, much more

questioning than they ever were.Noting that students here nowhave wings (which, in contrastto years past, are awarded oncompletion of basic fast-jettraining on the Tucano at RAFLinton-on-Ouse rather than atthe end of their time at Valley),Wg Cdr Marsh said: “The guyswho come through here nowhave a bit of confidence about

them.” This means they aremore inclined to question theirinstructors. That isn’t to suggestthe lines between instructorsand students are blurring (“weknow our places”, said Wg CdrMarsh) but rather to observe thatthe traditional instructor-studentrelationship is now subtlydifferent because of the newdebriefing technology. Equally,however, Wg Cdr Marsh said thenew kit means “the instructorshave to be on top of their game;our guys have had to step up”.

There’s little doubt the yearstudents spend on No.IV(R)Squadron is intense. Indeed,with the amount they must learnto operate the Hawk’s systems,

the intensity of the course,the realism generated by theemulation and the freeze-framedetail of the debriefing, fast-jettraining is arguably tougher thanever. “A lot is expected of them,but there are no excuses whenyou’ve got the facilities theyhave here,” Flt Lt Brown said.

This intensity is by design.“Up to now, flying training has

been ‘fluffy’,” said Al Shinner.“The focus has been on learningto fly in a controlled schoolenvironment. When they getto the front line, there’s a lotless direct supervision and theyneed to stand up for themselves,much like progressing fromschool to college and then outinto the work environment.”Wg Cdr Marsh echoed thispoint, saying: “What we’retrying to do is to teach peopleto be single-seat pilots in anextremely complicated aircraftwhether it’s the Typhoon or, infuture, the F-35. Those guyshave to be able to operateon their own and work at avery high level. It’s important

that we can start instilling thathere so they start learning forthemselves rather than beingspoon-fed.” Just as much as theskill sets and cognitive capacitiesto operate frontline systems,the new technology allowsNo.IV(R) Squadron to teach anoperational mindset.

ProgressWith two courses now running,how is the new world of fast-

jet training bedding down?Since Valley is the flagship forUKMFTS there’s interest in howthe new relationship of militaryand private contractor workingalongside each other in thesame building is working out.Wg Cdr Marsh said: “We’re ina contracted world but we’vebuilt a team. No matter whomyou work for – Ascent, RAF,DE&S – you’re all part of thesquadron. It’s very important forthe students to see that civilianpersonnel are wearing thesame squadron badges. It’s theclassic ‘who do you work for?’

trained single-seat pilot capableof managing fourth and fifth-generation aircraft in multi-rolemissions with advanced sensors,weapons and countermeasures,”said Sqn Ldr Caine.

He added that, crucially,students are also gainingcognitive abilities – the skill setsrequired to manage the interplayof communications, radar,weapons and countermeasuresusing MFD pages, HOTAS andHUD in the pressure of combat.That’s what pilots flying complexmodern fast jets have to doand the Hawk T2 exposes themto this. Wg Cdr Marsh said:“There’s no radar in the aircraft,it’s just a data link – just noughts

and ones – but for the studentit’s real. Tradit ionally, trainingaircraft have been exactlythat – pure training. Althoughwe don’t carry live weapons,from day-one we’re teachingpeople how to use a weaponsplatform.”

This realism manifests itselfin other ways on the course.The terminology used in thecourseware mirrors that ofthe modern frontline types,preparing students for whatthey’ll encounter when theymove to the OCUs. Aerobaticsare no longer taught to studentsin the form they were. The

justification for aerobatics is thatthey help build confidence in an

aircraft, which is probably stilltrue, but with flying frontline jetslike the Typhoon really beingabout managing systems it’snow considered more effectiveto teach manoeuvres that canbe used in a fight. Wg CdrMarsh explained: “We don’tdo aerobatics anymore, we docombat manoeuvres. We’ restill teaching the edge of theenvelope but in a manner[students] can use operationally.They still do looping, rolling,spinning, low speed, high speed,but it’s about manoeuvring theaircraft in a way so you can killyour opponent or not be killedyourself.”

DebriefingA further innovation is themission debriefing equipment.Each FTD, FMS and real Hawksortie is recorded, the latter usingthe ‘data brick’ removed from the

jet after landing. Missions can beplayed back in their entirety, withevery aspect of a flight availablefor analysis. Th e course flown(in 2D or 3D), the moving maps,the MFD screen and HOTASselections, the HUD symbology,communications (external as wellas cockpit voices) and more canall be reviewed – with forwardand backward playback at either1x or 20x speed and freeze-framing possible so a mission canbe viewed in second-by-second

detail. Trips are time-stampedso instructors and students canselect specific events from anypoint of the sortie.

This level of detail enablesinstructors to see exactly whatthe student did at any point– whether they flew over thecorrect waypoints, the selectionsthey made on the MFDs andHOTAS, their HUD symbology,radar scans they selected, radiocalls they made, their selectionsof combat flap and weapons,trigger presses, the dispensingof defensive aids, the relativespeeds during air combat andeven aspects (angles of attack,release heights and speeds)of weapons launched. Flt LtBrown said: “We can assess

them going down the range,stopping it at the moment theypressed the pickle-button andcheck whether the bomb wouldhave been good and whetherthey recovered properly. Wecan measure the exact distanceof a missile shot so we can seewhether that would have beena valid air-to-air kill or not. Wecan assess things properly. It’sfantastic and there is no hiding!”

Drilling down into this levelof detail and being able tofreeze the trip at any point isrevolutionary in several ways.Besides being equipment fast-jetstudents simply haven’t hadbefore, and giving instructorsgreater insight into their students’

HAWK T2

SPECIFICATIONS

AND PERFORMANCELength: 12.43m (40ft 9in)

Wingspan: 9.94m (32ft 7in)

Height: 3.98m (13ft 1in)

Wing area: 16.70m2 (179.64ft 2 )

Wheel track: 3.47m (11ft 5in)

Max Take-Off Weight: 9,100kg (20,062lb)

Empty Weight: 4,570kg (10,075lb)

Max Payload: 3,000kg (6,614lb)

Max Internal Fuel: 355 imp gal (1,613 litres)

Max External Fuel: Two under-wing tanks 26 imp

gal (1,182 litres)

1 centreline tank: 100 imp gal (454 litres)

Powerplant: One 29kN (6,500lb) Rolls-Royce/

Turbomeca Adour Mk951

Max Level Speed (sea level):560kts/Mach 0.8

Maximum Mach Speed: Mach 1.2

Data courtesy BAE Systems

1 Routine maintenance under way inside No.IV(R) Squadron’s hangar, which ispart of the Moran building at RAF Valley. Paul Ridgway 2 Hawk T2 ZK022/’M’

sits on jacks during routine maintenance. Paul Ridgway 3 Night time ops.

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time on training tasks, therebyreducing operating costs (theHawk T2’s hourly operating costis a tenth of Typhoon’s).

Ascent and the RAF admitthis ultimate benefit can only be

judged when the first T2-trainedstudents arrive on their OCUsthis year. But they insist there isreal potential for significant costsavings. BAE believes the T2also offers potential savings inthe refresher training role. Withthe simulation and emulationcapacities there is the possibilitythat pilots returning to the frontline could undertake some of

their refresher electronic warfaretraining, for instance, on theHawk rather than at the OCU.“The jet is extremely capable.It’s one of those situations wherethey [the RAF] have probablygot more than they’ve askedfor. The world’s their oyster,”observed Andy Blythe. Ofcourse, decisions about whetherthe Hawk will be used in this wayare down to the RAF.

Engineering

The Hawk T2 should also bringcost savings in the importantarea of engineering. Thenew Hawks are maintained at

Valley by Babcock, which was

sub-contracted to fulfill this roleby BAE Systems – BAE wasawarded an in service support(ISS) contract by the MoDto provide maintenance andrectification for the T2s (Ascent isnot part of this contract).

A crucial new part of theT2 from an engineeringperspective is on-site diagnosticand rectification capabilities.In contrast to the T1, ifproblems occur they can beinvestigated at Valley using thenew diagnostic equipment.Rectification work, if it’s required,can also be undertaken on-base

rather than parts being removedand shipped back to themanufacturer. This minimisesdowntime, which directlyimpacts not only on aircraftavailability but also on thecost of operation. As with theprevious Hawk, the T2 airframe islargely metallic which, accordingto Pete Thomson, makes it“easy to repair and maintain”.These support considerationsare important factors in trainingaircraft contracts. “It’s all aboutvalue and availability… the keyis to make the maintenanceand through-life costs as low aspossible,” he added.

But have the new Hawk’smore complex systems made it

more challenging to maintainthan the T1? Thomson saysnot: “Overall it’s easier. We dohave more complex systemson the aircraft now. However,they are all designed withmaintenance requirements inmind. The avionics maintenancehas vastly increased, butit’s all been designed to beuser-friendly and easy toachieve.” He added that BAEwould continue to “introduceproduct enhancements to makemaintenance easier”.

FutureEven though the T2 is still inits early days of RAF service,

attention is already turning to thefuture. Wit h further capabilityenhancements for the Typhoonand the arrival of the F-35scheduled for later this decadeset to bring an era of ever-moreadvanced – and demanding– sensors, radar and smarttargeting and weapons, thereis real focus on how to exploitfurther the Hawk’s capabilities.“We’re looking now to the F-35and finding out what exactlythat means for us,” said Wg CdrMarsh. “I have no doubt therewill be certain skills you’ll need tobe an F-35 pilot that you won’t

need to be a Typhoon pilot,or vice versa, so we may haveto change our syllabus.” The

It doesn’t matter, because ‘I’mdoing the same job as everyoneelse’. I’m really proud of that.”

Speaking separately, Shinneragreed: “As far as I’m concerned,my staff are fully integrated intoa military flying squadron and aretreated as being a flight on thatsquadron. The Central FlyingSchool assesses all of my staffand awards them a Competentto Instruct categorisation. InUKMFTS, whether students arein the GBTE, the classroom orthey’re flying, they have thesame standard of instruction,assessment strategy, disciplineand regulations. It’s a fullintegration.”

Things are still progressing.“This is a brand new conceptand we’re all learning. We sitwith the RAF weekly and discuss

what we’re doing,” Shinnersaid. “The students’ progresson all our courses and the wayin which they have responded tothe new syllabus and coursewareis being constantly reviewed.Changes to the order of eventsand the precise mix of syntheticand live training will be madeif necessary. Finding theoptimal balance is key. We willcontinually adjust our coursesover this 25-year programme.Right now only the secondcourse is under way.”

How are students coping withthe demands of the course?Shinner admitted “there was aconcern about whether we’dset the level of learning at the

right speed given the amountand intensity of the course”.However, he said: “To be honest,the students in the early partsof this course are doing betterthan the students still running onthe T1 [some students are stillcompleting their training on theT1 on No.208(R) Squadron whileNo.IV(R) Squadron gets fully upto speed]. Even basic things likeinstrument flying are more difficultin this aircraft because there ismore to do, but with the GBTEthe students are better prepared.This has greatly reduced the re-flyand failure rates of the airbornesorties in comparison to trainingpreviously.”

Flt Lt Brown said that with self-study periods in the DTTs andFTDs available, students “spendhours practising and playing with

the avionics and learning whateverything does”. He addedthat No.IV(R) Squadron expectsto lose fewer students than hastraditionally been the case oncourses at Valley. Students arealso taking the synthetics in theirstride, possibly because theequipment brings out intuitiveskills acquired while growing upplaying with computer games.“The Xbox generation thingstands true. These guys areused to using their hands andhandling the throttle and stick,”Flt Lt Brown observed. “They’reprepared for it and they learnvery quickly. They know how tomanipulate the avionics becauseit makes sense to them, though

part of it is good design.”More broadly, there is a

feeling at Valley that the Hawk isdoing what it was purchased todo. Wg Cdr Marsh said: “The T2takes us back to when trainingand front-line aircraft werealigned [as in the 1970s/1980swhen the T1 was aligned tofront-line analogue cockpits].There’s no gap between thestudents finishing and going onto the front line. Indeed, we’reactually overlapping. The high-end sorties the guys are doinghere are of equivalent difficultyand procedure to what the guysat the end of the Typhoon OCUare doing today.”

This leads into anotherimportant aspect of the T2– its potential to save theMoD money. Wit h the T1’s

limitations meaning studentsnever handled MFDs, HUDand HOTAS let alone operated

them in combat scenarios, OCUcourses have over the yearsbecome lengthier as cockpitcomplexity has increased. Pilotsdon’t become combat-readyuntil four to six months intotheir frontline posting after theOCU. With the capabilities ofthe new equipment meaningNo.IV(R) Squadron can nowteach the initial elements ofOCUs, students leaving Valleyshould have more advancedskills in operating frontlinecockpits than before. As cent’sand the RAF’s expectation is thatOCUs will be able to spend lesstime on the basics and more onteaching advanced tactics andprocedures. In turn, it’s hopedthat pilots will become combat-ready on the OCU prior to afrontline posting. By bringing

everything forward the theory isthat expensive frontline aircraftwill in future spend far less

SYNTHETICS

Cockpit set-up of the Hawk T2 flying training device.

Alongside the new Hawk’s cockpit, another important innovation is thesynthetic training capabilities of the ground-based desk top trainers (DTT),flight training devices and full mission simulators (FMS). Although T1students used simulators, this equipment provides more comprehensivesynthetic training. It uses the same OC2 software and mission computersas in the Hawk T2’s cockpit to ensure a seamless integration between thetwo.The ten DTTs are desktop computers that display a fully-functioning T2cockpit, in a similar way to a very high-end consumer flight simulator.The students dock their personal laptops (which they receive on arrivalat Valley and which hold their syllabus and courseware, including videotutorials) with the DTTs and their flying controls. Using the touch screen,students can activate any button in the cockpit, the idea being that theylearn to operate the MFDs, HUD and HOTAS by doing so. The six FTDsoffer a step up in realism, constituting a fully-representative T2 cockpit forpractising checks and procedures and rehearsing missions covering themajority of UK airspace and airfields.

Lastly, two FMSs use 360° domed visual projection in front of, aroundand above a fully-representative cockpit. “Everything is exactly as in theaircraft, apart from the fact that the HUD is projected onto the screen,”explained Al Shinner, Ascent’s Station Manager and a former Tornado F3pilot and Hawk T1 QFI, who heads the Ascent side of the partnership atValley. Missions can be flown with one or multiple aircraft, at day or nightand in all weathers. As in the Hawk’s cockpit, synthetic radar, aircraft andweapons can be generated, enabling a student to practise what they’regoing to do for real. “This is as good a flight simulator for any fast jetanywhere in the world,” Shinner said. “When ETPS [Empire Test PilotSchool] at Boscombe Down sent a test pilot here he said it was the firstsim he’d been in where it felt like he was flying the aircraft. Here you feelthe take-off and the landing, you see and feel the weather, accelerationsand even the brake chute deploying.” Having witnessed a brief ‘sortie’in the sim, AIR International

can testify to the impressive graphics. ThinkGoogle Earth but fully-immersive and in considerably greater resolution –right down to the crests on waves and moving wind-turbine blades.

Flying training devices offer a step up in realism, constituting a fully-representative T2cockpit for practising checks and procedures, and rehearsing missions covering themajority of UK airspace and airfields.

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contract between the MoD andAscent allows for changes to bemade to the software architecture,courseware and GBTE.

One potential impact of theF-35 on the T2 fleet may be theemergence of common trainingstandards between the RAF andthe other F-35 customers, twoof which – Canada and Australia

– are also Hawk 100-seriesoperators. Wg Cdr Marsh said:“We are starting to work togetherwith the other F-35 nations,especially those who’ve got theHawk, to come up with a common[training] requirement. That’sgoing in parallel with those guysdesigning the F-35 syllabus.”

This leads back to that all-

important area of the Hawk’ssoftware. If t he RAF wants toupdate the aircraft’s simulationand emulation capabilities toreflect new technologies arrivingwith the F-35 – or updates tothe Typhoon and Tornado – withit being just a data link, thenthat’s possible. “Because the

jet doesn’t have real radar, any

obsolescence issues have beenremoved. If some new, clevertechniques come out in thefuture, all we have to do is updatethe software,” explained AndyBlythe. In other words, the T2 isfuture-proofed – because it’s onlythe software that needs updating,changes can be made withouthaving to resort to costly hardware

replacement. Blythe said “thereare sketches out there for OC3and OC4, the next couple ofiterations” to the software, thoughno development contracts haveyet been awarded.

This future evolution of theT2 may not just stem from theUK’s requirements. With othercountries’ defence budgets

under remorseless pressure, it’shardly beyond plausibility thatHawk operators could look atpooling their future investmentsin the aircraft to make costsavings. According to Blythe,this is something BAE is trying toencourage its customers to do.The fact that some F-35 customersoperate the Hawk would make

such partnerships even morenatural. Also coming into playis the desire of some countriesoperating older Hawk 100-seriesaircraft to update their cockpits.In this regard, it’s interesting thatthe Royal Australian Air Forcesigned a contract with BAE lastsummer for the upgrade of theirMk127s to bring them into line

with the RAF’s T2s.The ways in which the T2

will evolve in light of any suchco-operation, the developmentof the Typhoon and the arrivalof the F-35 are all for the future.Right now, Wg Cdr Marsh said theRAF’s view is that the Hawk T2 hasalready “changed the face offlying training in the UK”.

1 The two-ship formation breaks upas one plane peels off in dramaticstyle. 2 View through the head-updisplay during a night time sortie.

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For further information, please contact:

Hawk and Training Business Development TeamBAE Systems

Warton Aerodrome (W427)

Warton, Preston

Lancashire

PR4 1AX

Telephone: 01772 633333

hawk t2 advanced jet trainer in raf service

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