Newindpress

Bangalore, Feb 8: With the first batch of the Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) Hawks set to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) in September this year, the IAF has decided to send some of its experienced pilots to RAF valley for training, so that they know the machine well.

“IAF has shown keen interest to send some of its experienced pilots for training at RAF valley. The air force is now sending student pilots for training at RAF,” Air Vice Marshal H Gavin Mackay, Senior Military Adviser, Defence Export Service Organisation, Defence Ministry, UK, told this website's newspaper on Wednesday.

The officer said that the qualified flying instructors from IAF would be trained along with the Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots sometime at the end of this year. “The training will certainly help them and IAF will also have core team of pilots who are familiar with the machine.”

BAe Systems has a training programme in place at RAF Valley in Anglesey. As per the agreement signed with IAF, BAe Systems will train 75 IAF pilots, of them 39 have already completed their course. However, training IAF instructors will be separate from the on-going training.

The IAF is purchasing 66 Hawks. BAe Systems would provide 24 aircraft, while the Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) would produce the remaining 42 under license in Bangalore.

The Hawks will be based in Bidar and the IAF has already started working on the required infrastructure. The AJTs are expected to give a major fillip to the IAF training activities as they will enable fighter pilots to have a smooth transition from trainer aircraft to operational aircraft like MiGs, Jaguars, Mirage 2000s and Su-30MKI.