BAE Systems, LANGKAWI, Malaysia: The BAE Systems Hawk fleet based at the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme, has reached a major milestone with the completion of the 50,000th flying hour.
This significant milestone has been reached in record time and with a relatively small fleet of aircraft, the hours being accrued in only seven years, with an initial fleet of 22 aircraft. During this period more than 330 students have been trained at the NFTC on the Hawk.
Mark Parkinson, Managing Director – Training Solutions, BAE Systems said: “The fact that the NFTC Hawk fleet has accrued 50,000 flying hours in such a short period of time is testament to the aircraft’s outstanding reliability, serviceability, and suitability to train fast jet pilots from across the globe.”
The achievement of the 50,000 flying hours is just the latest in a series of milestones that the NFTC’s Hawk fleet has achieved. They have the highest flying rate per aircraft of any Hawk operator with an average usage of 510 flying hours per year. An NFTC Hawk also holds the record for the highest usage of an individual aircraft in one year at 653 hours.
The NFTC is a training facility for pilots from air forces from around the world. It is operated by Bombardier of Canada and uses BAE Systems Hawks for the advanced jet training phases of the programme. NFTC currently operates Hawk Mk115s from two airbases – Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan and Cold Lake in Alberta.
An initial support services contract (SSC) between BAE Systems and Bombardier began in August 2000, since when two extensions have been awarded resulting in the contract life being extended to August 2010. This contract supports the NFTC programme by providing a range of technical engineering services and material support for schedule spares and overhauls and unscheduled repairs.
NFTC Hawk aircraft have a demanding flying rate. The SSC has a unique principle of providing support based upon assumed flying hours which provides an incentive for BAE Systems to make the aircraft more reliable and maximise NFTC flying rates.
BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 96,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £15 billion (US $27 billion) in 2006 on a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings Inc for the whole of 2006.
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