Rolls-Royce, HAL finalise £200 million contract for Hawk AJT engines
28 Jul 2010
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems giant, has said it has finalised a contract for the order of an additional 57 Adour-powered Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) aircraft for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It said the engine contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is worth up to £200 million and also includes the first Adour engines for the Indian Navy.
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| IAF Hawk AJT: Image BAE Systems |
The Indian Navy is expected to operate atleast 17 of the aircraft.
The fresh lot of Hawks will be powered by the Mk871 variant of the Adour which will be assembled in Bangalore, India, in partnership with HAL.
HAL chairman Ashok Nayak said: ''Rolls-Royce has been our trusted partner since 1956, when HAL started producing the Orpheus engine, under licence. Since then the partnership has flourished on programmes like the Hawk advanced jet trainer's Adour Mk871 engine, following on from the production of Adour Mk811 engines for the Jaguar.
''Once again, we are proud to partner with Rolls-Royce on a programme where India's next-generation pilots will train on Advanced Jet Trainers powered by Adour engines, which the two companies will co-produce.''
Chris Awde, Rolls-Royce sales and commercial director (defence), said: