BAE Systems Hawk

Updated: October 2026 – Nine red jets pass over the airfield in the Diamond Nine formation, the smoke switches to red, white and blue: anyone who has seen the Red Arrows knows the Hawk. Yet the British jet trainer is far more than an airshow star. For almost five decades RAF pilots have learned fast-jet flying on it, and around the globe it flies with air forces from Finland to Australia. Here you will learn how to identify the Hawk with confidence, how the generations differ, who flies it and where you can get it in front of your lens as a spotter.

What is the BAE Systems Hawk?

The Hawk is a two-seat, single-engine subsonic jet trainer. It bridges the gap between basic training on propeller aircraft and the fighter jet: formation flying, low-level flying, aerobatics, navigation and, in later versions, work with simulated sensors and weapons. Export customers also use armed versions as light combat aircraft.

Its origins lie in a problem faced by the Royal Air Force. In the 1960s the RAF was looking for a successor to the small Folland Gnat, which was expensive to operate as a trainer. Hawker Siddeley began studies at its own expense in 1968, led by chief designer Ralph Hooper. On October 1, 1971 the RAF chose the HS.1182 design, and in March 1972 the main contract for 175 aircraft followed.

This first Hawk, XX154, took off on August 21, 1974 at Dunsfold, with Hawker Siddeley chief pilot Duncan Simpson at the controls. From November 1976 the manufacturer delivered the Hawk T1 to the RAF. Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace in 1977, which in 1999 turned into BAE Systems. Every Hawk is powered by an Adour turbofan from the British-French partnership of Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca, which now belongs to Safran.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The Hawk is small and, at airshows, fast. Three observations are still enough to separate it from other trainers.

Add to that the horizontal stabilizer, which attaches low at the end of the fuselage below the fin. In the end, the serial confirms the exact aircraft: with the RAF a serial number of two letters and three digits like XX154, with export customers the respective national system.

The generations: from the T1 to the Hawk 128

Behind the name Hawk stands a whole family. BAE has developed the airframe over decades and launched new series for export customers again and again, whose numbers roughly reveal the generation.

Series	Typical features	Example users
Hawk T1 / T1A	First RAF generation, analog cockpit; T1A with weapons option	RAF, Red Arrows
Hawk 50	First export series, first flight May 17, 1976	Finland (Mk 51), Kenya, Indonesia
Hawk 60	More powerful engine, higher payload	Switzerland (Mk 66), Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Korea
Hawk 100	Two-seat weapons trainer with more modern avionics	Canada (CT-155), Malaysia
Hawk 120 to 132	New generation with revised wing and fuselage, glass cockpit	South Africa, Australia, RAF (T2), India
Hawk 165 to 167	Current export versions of the new generation	Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar
Hawk 200	Single-seat light combat aircraft	Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman

The most important dividing line lies between the old and the new generation. The Hawk 128 first flew on July 27, 2005 at Warton and went to the RAF as the Hawk T2. It has a glass cockpit modeled on modern fighter jets, so that students learn to handle displays, sensors and systems already in the trainer. From the outside, the most noticeable feature is the longer, more pointed nose. The Hawk 128 measures 12.43 meters in length with a wingspan of 9.94 meters and is powered by the Adour Mk 951 with about 29 kilonewtons of thrust. In level flight it reaches around Mach 0.84, in a dive up to Mach 1.2.

A special case is the Hawk 200: it has only one cockpit and a nose that offers more room for electronics. Without the stepped canopy it looks like a small fighter jet – a puzzle for anyone who knows the Hawk only as a two-seater.

The Hawk in the Royal Air Force

For the RAF the Hawk was the link to the fighter jet for decades. The T1 took over advanced training and weapons instruction, and part of the fleet was converted to the T1A, which could carry Sidewinder missiles and a gun pod.

The heyday of the T1 is over. In July 2021 the British Ministry of Defence announced that all T1s outside the Red Arrows would be retired by March 31, 2022. Training has since been with the Hawk T2: it flies with the No. 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley on Anglesey, split between No. IV and No. XXV (Fighter) Squadron. The first T2 reached the RAF in 2009, and training on the new type began in April 2012. After basic training on the Beechcraft Texan, students move on to the Hawk, followed by the Eurofighter Typhoon or the F-35.

A curiosity can be found at RAF Leeming in Yorkshire: there the RAF and the Qatari air force jointly operate a squadron with Hawk 167s, which belong to Qatar. So anyone traveling in northern England can see Hawks in Qatari colors over British soil.

The Red Arrows and their red Hawks

The Hawk is best known as the aircraft of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team. In August 1979 the Red Arrows took over their first Hawk, replacing the Folland Gnat, and the team flew its first display season with the new type in 1980. Since then the red Hawk has been almost a synonym for British aerobatics. Nine aircraft fly the display, and a tenth travels along as a spare. Home since October 2022 has been RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire; before that it was RAF Scampton for a long time.

The display Hawks belong to the first generation T1 (sometimes listed as the T1A) and have an uprated engine. Under the fuselage they carry a pod with tanks for diesel and dye. This mix is injected into the hot exhaust jet and produces the white, red or blue smoke. The Hawk suits this job well: it responds precisely, tolerates high load factors and is comparatively easy to maintain as a trainer. Its drawback shows on overseas tours, because without air-to-air refueling the team has to plan many intermediate stops.

According to current plans, the Hawk T1 stays in service with the Red Arrows until the end of the 2029 display season. British defense planning sees the successor in a new jet trainer system; type and timeline are still open, though. For spotters that means: the next seasons are the last opportunities to see the red Hawks live. The full history of the team is in the profile of the Red Arrows, and the overview of Europe’s aerobatic teams offers a comparison with other teams.

Export users worldwide

Hardly any Western trainer has sold as well. Over 1,000 Hawks went to 18 operators; according to BAE, around 650 aircraft are still in service in 16 countries today. A selection of the most important users:

Country	Versions	Notes
Finland	Mk 51, Mk 51A, Mk 66	50 Mk 51 from 1980, most assembled by Valmet at Halli; Midnight Hawks aerobatic team
Switzerland	Mk 66	20 aircraft from 1990 to 2002, 18 of them sold to Finland in 2007
India	Hawk 132	over 100 aircraft for the air force, plus the navy; Surya Kiran aerobatic team
Saudi Arabia	Hawk 65, 165	large fleet, Saudi Hawks aerobatic team
Australia	Hawk 127	with No. 76 and No. 79 Squadron as a feeder to the fighter jet
South Africa	Hawk 120	with 85 Combat Flying School
Canada	CT-155 (Hawk 115)	retired in March 2024 – historic
USA (Navy)	T-45 Goshawk	own carrier-capable derivative

Finland is the most interesting export customer for European spotters. In December 1977 the air force ordered a total of 50 Hawk Mk 51, of which 46 were assembled by Valmet at Halli. Seven Mk 51A and the 18 used Swiss Mk 66 were added later. Unmodernized Mk 51s left service between 2011 and 2016, and the modernized aircraft are to fly into the early 2030s according to Finnish information. The Midnight Hawks team performs with four Hawks, based at Tikkakoski near Jyväskylä.

Switzerland is a piece of Hawk history in the German-speaking world. The 20 Hawk Mk 66 of the Swiss Air Force flew in pilot training from 1990 to 2002. Anyone who wants to dig deeper into Swiss military aviation will find the right collection at the Flieger-Flab-Museum Dübendorf (Swiss Air Force Museum); it is best to check beforehand which exhibits are currently on show.

A special case: the T-45 Goshawk

In the 1980s the US Navy needed a trainer with which future naval aviators could also practice carrier landings. McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace developed the T-45 Goshawk from the Hawk 60 series for this purpose. It received strengthened landing gear for hard carrier landings, a catapult launch fitting, an arrestor hook and a larger horizontal stabilizer. Instead of the air brake under the fuselage it has two air brakes on the sides of the rear fuselage.

The first T-45A flew on April 16, 1988, and the type was operational from 1991. By the last delivery in November 2009, 221 aircraft had been built; all T-45As have since been brought up to the T-45C standard with a glass cockpit. The Goshawks fly at Kingsville (Texas), Meridian (Mississippi) and Pensacola (Florida). For European spotters it is a real travel target.

Hawk, Alpha Jet, L-39 or M-346?

At airshows and in museums, several jet trainers often stand side by side. The finder helps you narrow it down.

You will find more details on the pages for the Alpha Jet, the Aero L-39 Albatros, the Aermacchi MB-339 and the Leonardo M-346. A modern competitor from the USA is the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk, which despite the similar name has nothing to do with the British Hawk and stands out at once by its two vertical stabilizers. The guide Identifying fighter jets in Europe takes a wider look across all military jets.

Where you can see the Hawk today

In flight, the Hawk is mainly a matter of Great Britain and Scandinavia for German spotters. Three opportunities stand out.

Place	Chance of success	What to expect
Mach Loop in Wales	medium, depending on weather and operations	Hawk T2s from RAF Valley in low-level flight, often at eye level or from above
British airshows	high in season	Red Arrows with Hawk T1, often plus Hawk T2 on static display
Finnish air days	medium	Midnight Hawks and training Hawks of the Finnish Air Force
RAF Museum Cosford	exhibition	RAF history from the Gnat to modern jets; which Hawk is on display changes

The Mach Loop is the most spectacular spot: the Hawks of the flying school at Valley are among the most frequent visitors there. You get the surest view of the Red Arrows at big British shows such as the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford or the Farnborough Airshow. Which other events are worthwhile is shown in the overview of airshows in Europe. In London, the RAF Museum Hendon rounds off a museum visit.

What you need to keep in mind at military airfields is covered in the article on the rules at military airfields. How to follow military flights online is explained in Tracking military aircraft online.

Photo tips for the Hawk

At just under ten meters of wingspan the Hawk is small, and fast during displays. A few points make the difference.

How to plan displays in general is covered in the article Photographing airshows.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

A close relative in spirit, by the way, is the Hawker Hunter: also from the house of Hawker, but a single-seat fighter of the 1950s with a much more strongly swept wing. The vertical-takeoff Harrier also comes from the same corporate family.

Conclusion

The Hawk is the aircraft on which generations of British fighter pilots learned fast-jet flying, and the face of the Red Arrows. You can recognize it by the low wing, the side intakes, the single nozzle and the arched back; the nose reveals the generation. With over 1,000 aircraft sold, it still flies on several continents today. For you as a spotter: according to current plans, the red T1s of the Red Arrows will be seen for only a few more seasons – Great Britain and Finland remain the best destinations.