Agence France-Presse, British Aerospace has begun training Indian pilots on its Hawk jets as part of a 1.45 billion dollar deal to supply 66 trainer jets to the technology-starved Indian air force, the firm said Sept. 27.
Six Indian pilots have undergone a 10-week training program in the run-up to the start of the delivery of the Hawk jets, BAE said, adding that the exercise will continue as part of the 2004 contract.
“Despite unseasonable weather in the United Kingdom, the 90 required sorties have been flown in just five weeks,” BAE flying instructor Paul Comer said in an e-mailed statement.
BAE will sell and supply 24 Hawk jets and the remaining 42 aircraft will be produced in India by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd under license from the British firm.
The delivery is slated to begin in December.
The contract to acquire the Hawks ended 23 years of dithering by the Indian air force over buying planes to train rookie pilots for its mainstay MiG-21 fighter jets, dubbed “flying coffins” due to frequent crashes.
