Rolls-Royce has agreed a £105m engine deal with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the RAF's fleet of Hawk jets, including aircraft flown by aerobatics display team Red Arrows.
The 11-year contract will see the engineering giant providing maintenance, repair and overhaul to the two variants of the Adour engine, which power the Hawk T2 training aircraft and the Hawk T1 jets.
The work will be carried out at Rolls-Royce’s UK defence headquarters in Bristol, with workers also being deployed to RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, which is home to the 28-strong fleet.
"The agreement announced today will allow us to maximise the availability and supportability of the Adour engine for our customer," said Alex Zino, EVP business development and future programmes at Rolls-Royce Defence.
"We have an established and valuable relationship with the UK Government and armed forces and we are proud to continue to support them into the next decade and beyond."
The MoD is investing £695m over the next 11 years to provide in-service support to the RAF's fleet. The aircraft provide fast-jet training for trainee pilots as part of the UK Military Flying Training System (UK MFTS) programme.
UK MFTS provides the aircraft, synthetics and training devices to train the next generation of front-line aircrew of all three services. After graduation, these pilots are able to go on to fly F-35B Lightning and Typhoon fighter jets.
The Hawk Integrated Support Solution comprises two separate contracts placed by the MoD’s procurement arm, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) - the one awarded to Rolls-Royce and another to BAE Systems that will cover all Hawk T2 airframe support elements.
Air Vice Marshal Simon Ellard, Director Combat Air at DE&S, added: “This is a major milestone for UK MFTS and the culmination of many months of hard work from the team at DE&S. Through this investment, we will continue to train our student pilots to become the best in the business.”
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