Hawk jet assembly a big
step for Saudi aerospace
by Jon Lake
Saudi-built BAE Systems Hawk 165
Advanced Jet Trainers are now in service
with the Royal Saudi Air Force, making
the Hawk the first indigenously assem-
bled fast jet aircraft to fly in Saudi skies.
This represents a significant step for-
ward for the Kingdom’s aerospace indus-
try; Saudi Arabia has wanted to assemble
military aircraft for many years. License
manufacture, or final assembly of aircraft
is frequently considered emblematic of a
maturing indigenous defense/aerospace
industry, and Saudi Arabia eventually
wants to manufacture half of its military
aircraft domestically.
By doing this, the Kingdom hopes to
gain a strategic advantage by reducing its
dependence on foreign suppliers, while
creation of a sustainable defense industry
is a key pillar of the Vision 2030 program.
Saudi Arabia had hoped to undertake
final assembly of 48 of the 72 Eurofighter
Typhoons that it ordered in 2007, but
those plans changed. Instead, the Saudis
were persuaded that local participation in
Typhoon through life support would be a
more realistic proposal and provide more
benefit to the local industry.
However, when Saudi Arabia ordered a
second batch of new-generation Hawk Mk
165 AJT (Advanced Jet Trainer) aircraft in
February 2015, it was specified that these air-
craft would be completed in-country, using
a new Hawk In Kingdom Final Assembly
(Hawk IKFA) line established in the former
Tornado Programme Depth Maintenance
Upgrade (TPDMU) facility at Dhahran.
The Hawks are delivered as major sub-
assemblies, consisting of the fuselage, wing,
tailplane, and fin. These are air-freighted
from Warton in the UK to Dhahran, where
they are assembled to become a complete
aircraft. The Hawk In-Kingdom Final
Assembly (IKFA) team then tests, flight
tests, and paints the aircraft, and manages
acceptance by and delivery to the RSAF.
More than 70 percent of personnel in the
IKFA facility are Saudi nationals and the
Hawk assembly facility was created with the
support of 25 Saudi companies, with many
more benefitting across the supply chain.
The first delivery of Hawk 165 parts to
Dhahran took place in October 2017. BAE
By taking on assembly of its BAE Hawks, Saudi Arabia is fulfilling a long-held ambition.
6 Dubai Airshow News \ November 17, 2 0 1 9
Systems Saudi Arabia chief test pilot Andy
Blythe made the first flight of the first Saudi-
assembled Hawk 165 on November 4, 2018.
This was the first manned aircraft to be
assembled in the Kingdom and was also,
coincidentally, the 1,000th Hawk built.
“The aircraft themselves have been
assembled very well,” he said, “based on
what I have experienced from the Brough,
Warton, and Williamtown [Australia]
production lines, IKFA has a better strike
rate with respect to the tuning required
of a hand-built aircraft. The aircraft defi-
nitely feels the same as those assembled
at Warton, though I never experienced
48 degrees C while test flying at Warton.
However, the RSAF are excellent hosts by
providing airspace for us to test and a very
long runway.”
First deliveries from the new Saudi
Hawk production line were originally
expected to begin in the third quarter of New boom control laws were introduced to solve workload issues encountered when refueling
2018, but the first of the 22 locally assem- F-15 Eagles with the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport. The main-deck medevac kit for
bled Hawk Mk 165s was ceremonially the A330 MRTT includes two intensive care stations and 16 stretchers.
rolled out on April 1 at Dhahran in the
presence of Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman, Saudi’s deputy prime minis-
ter and minister of defense.
The first delivery to the RSAF was made
Automatic refueling for
in June 2019, and seven Saudi-assembled
aircraft had flown by October 2019. The
final kits for assembly by the Hawk IKFA
A330 MRTT planned in ‘21
were delivered later in October and the by David Donald
last aircraft is scheduled to be delivered
before the end of 2020. Airbus Defence and Space’s A330 fleet, Airbus is working on the introduc-
“The skills transferred and experience multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) tion in 2021 of predictive maintenance
gained in establishing a Hawk assembly will become capable of performing based on big data analysis.
capability in-Kingdom puts the Kingdom automatic air-to-air refueling (A3R) in More roles are planned for the A330,
in a good place for whatever follow-on 2021, the maker said. Airbus has already including VVIP transport. Talks are already
contracts are awarded,” observed Ian conducted tests of the system using a underway with a customer for an aircraft
Wood, director of manufacturing opera- company-owned A310 MRTT testbed, with VVIP cabin that retains its refueling
tions and Hawk IKFA general manager for beginning on March 21, 2017, when capability. Airbus asserted that the refuel-
BAE Systems Saudi Arabia. trials were conducted with an F-16 ing boom and pods can be easily removed
The final assembly of 22 Hawks, receiver, including contacts at night and reinstated on an as-required basis.
together with local industrial partici- and in adverse light conditions. In June Airbus also said it is technically feasible
pation in the assembly of Sikorsky S-70 2018 the system was tested with a large to add a boom to the RAF’s wingpod-only
helicopters, together with the local con- receiver—an A330— for the first time. Voyager aircraft, which might become
version of Boeing F-15S strike fighters to Tests with a customer are due next an issue as the RAF begins to operate an
F-15SR standard, will stand Saudi Arabia year, leading to certification and service increasing fleet of boom-refuelable air-
in good stead when its aerospace indus- entry in 2021. The customer has not been craft types
try moves on to its next goal—which is revealed, but it was the Royal Australian More importantly, the company noted
to produce an indigenously developed Air Force that provided a KC-30A for the that the size of the aircraft and the nature
aircraft in the mid-2030s. n June 2018 trials. of its operational employment make it an
For now, it is not intended that A3R ideal platform to handle stand-off ISR
replaces the air refueling operator tasks with signals intelligence sensors
(ARO) but acts as an aid to refueling and to act as a command and control
while reducing risks. A3R offers more node in a wider comms network.
accurate and quicker contacts, increas- In June, the company demonstrated its
ing operational efficiency by reducing “Network for the Sky” concept, in which
the time needed to complete rendez- data from ground forces was uplinked
vous. The capability is easily retrofitted to a fighter, then on to the A310 testbed
to existing aircraft. equipped with cyber-secure communica-
A3R is one of a number of develop- tions systems that relayed the data via sat-
ments being planned to enhance the ellite to a distant command post receiver.
A330 MRTT’s effectiveness and versatility. Such capabilities have resulted in Airbus
Drawing on experience with the airliner now talking of a “Smart MRTT.” n
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