Giant British aerospace and defence group BAE Systems is proposing the cockpit and associated avionics developed in South Africa for South African Air Force (SAAF) Hawk lead-in fighter-trainers as an upgrade for air forces using older model Hawks.

The South African Hawk avionics system was developed from scratch by local industry, under the leadership of Advanced Technologies & Engineering (ATE), to meet an SAAF contract, through BAE Systems. At the latest meeting of the Hawk Users Group, held in Muscat, Oman, last month, the representatives of the air forces present were given 
access to a Hawk Mk 120 demonstrator rig which used real software supplied by ATE.

Hawk Mk 120 is the BAE Systems designation for the 24 aircraft now in service with the SAAF. These South African aircraft are third-generation Hawks, and the British group argues that the South African cockpit offers users of first- and second-generation Hawks a low-risk, easy-fit modernisation of their aircraft.

The fitting of the South African cockpit and avionics to a Mk 60-series Hawk should increase the nose weight of these aircraft by only 50 kg.

The development of the cockpit for the SAAF Hawks is probably the biggest avionics 
programme ever undertaken in South Africa and it was led by ATE, which did the initial design, development, integration and validation of the system.

The programme also involved other South African defence electronics companies – Saab Avitronics, Reutech Defence Industries (RDI), Tellumat, Thales Engineering, AMS and the Overberg Test Range. In addition, some systems had to be sourced from Europe, from Thales (France) and Thales Optronics (UK).

The electronic warfare system was sub-contracted to Saab Avitronics and RDI was 
responsible for the radios, and Tellumat for the ‘identification, friend or foe’ (IFF) system.


(IFF is a coded transponder which, when interrogated by a coded signal from another aircraft, will transmit a response if the interrogating aircraft is friendly.) Most of the cockpit displays came from Thales, and the video system from Thales Optronics.

ATE itself 
developed the mission systems for the Hawks, namely the mission computers and the stores management system, which make up the heart of the avionics system. The company then 
integrated all these systems and subsystems into a complete, single, avionics package.

ATE also developed the software for the SAAF Hawk avionics – the first time South African industry has developed a complete aircraft avionics system software suite to the highest international standards. The South African Hawk airborne software package comprises more than one-million lines of code and this software is Level A and Level B flight critical.

Level A is safety critical, while Level B is mission critical, software. It was developed in a phased manner, with the initial release, allowing basic flight functions and designated 
Operational Capability 1, being released in 2006.

Operational Capability 2, with oper-
ational functions, was released in 2007. Oper-ational Capability 3, which concluded full-scale development and certification, was deliv-
ered to BAE Systems in 2008.

BAE Systems is also offering countries 
interested in upgrading their Hawks the option 
of using elements of the cockpit developed for Britain’s own, latest-generation Hawk Mk 128. Indeed, customers may be able to select elements from both the South African and British third-generation cockpits to upgrade their aircraft.

Further, BAE Systems is proposing upgrades to the earlier model Hawks’ aircraft structures, support systems and ground-based training equipment, as well as enhancements to their Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour turbofan engines. The complete upgrade 
– cockpit, avionics, airframe, engine and support equipment – would be cheap, at less than $7,3-million (£5-million) an aircraft.

There are 646 Hawks active around the world, with another 107 currently on order.

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