HAWK Fighter Jet reaches milestone of 75,000 flying hours

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) today announced that the Hawk 127 has reached the milestone of 75,000 flying hours.

The remarkable achievement is testament to the commitment and dedication of all those involved - maintenance crews, engineers, aircrew and our partners from industry.

The opportunity to fly fast jets in the RAAF is open to anyone who is willing to give it a shot and displays dedication and self motivation. The Hawk aircraft is used as a Lead-in Fighter initially to train those pilots selected to fly front line Hornet aircraft.

The Hawk 127 has proven to be a very capable aircraft in providing students with the necessary skills to progress to the next level of fighter jet training.

The Hawk 127 first entered service in 2001, and is operated by No 76 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, and No 79 Squadron at RAAF Base Pearce, near Perth.

The Hawk is manufactured by BAE Systems and is a tandem, two-seat jet aircraft primarily used to prepare the fast jet aircrew for operational conversion to the F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornet and ultimately the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Media note:  Imagery is available at: http://images.airforce.gov.au/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?archiveId=5000&search=(12130135%20OR%202012%20Task%200227)

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