WDS: Hawk delivery proves Made in Saudi capability

This promises to strengthen the Kingdom’s credentials when it comes to the manufacture of more advanced aircraft types, perhaps including participation in a sixth generation fighter for the RSAF.

HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Minister of Defense, oversaw the inauguration of the last Hawk Mk.165 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft. The aircraft was the last of 22 that have been assembled entirely in the Kingdom, using more than 3,114 parts assembled by 25 local companies.

When Saudi Arabia ordered its second batch of Hawk Mk 165 AJT aircraft in February 2015, it was specified that these aircraft 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 were delivered as major sub-assemblies, consisting of the fuselage, wing, tailplane, and fin and were then assembled for the first time to become a complete aircraft, before being tested, flown, painted and delivered 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 benefiting across the supply chain.

During the in-Kingdom final assembly programme, the proportion of local employees went from 77% on the first aircraft , to more than 90% on the final Hawk.