Australia releases RFI for potential replacement for BAE Hawk 127 LIFTs

A BAE Hawk 127 LIFT of the RAAF. Photo c/o Australian Aviation.

The Australian Department of Defence (DOD) through the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) has released a Request for Information (RFI) that points to a potential replacement of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) fleet of BAE Hawk 127 lead in fighter trainers.

The RFI requires submissions to be made by 31 July 2020, which seeks “information about these technologies while providing industry an opportunity to engage early on the capability lifecycle as it considers options that may contribute towards the next generation of LIF capability”.

Information will be used for planning and deciding on a course of action on the future of the RAAF’s Lead in Fighter Training System capability, and not necessarily on procuring any platform or system.

Currently the RAAF operates 33 BAE Hawk 127s since 1999, and was considered for a possible update that includes replacing its Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk 871 engines that has been experiencing stress and difficulty in sustaining.

The engine issue has led to grounding issues on the entire fleet for safety reasons, affecting operational training requirements.

The Hawk 127s are also lacking in terms of integrating it with existing and future platforms like the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and other platforms.

Among those considered as potential contenders should a replacement platform be decided as course of action are the Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle, Saab-Boeing T-7A Red Hawk, Leonardo M-346 Master, and Textron Scorpion, as well as a new variant of the BAE Hawk

BAE is also expected to propose a program to refurbish and modernize the existing Hawk 127 fleet.


[1] ADBR
[2] Australian Aviation