Indian pilots to train on UK's Hawks

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">BANGALORE: Call it the Hawk treat and Indian Air Force says it’s ready to dish it up to Indian pilots. With last-minute issues being ironed out, IAF officials now say the government will formally ink the pact with BAe Systems very soon for the advanced jet trainer.<br /><br />Once the formalities are over, the first batch of Indian pilots will fly to the UK to get trained on Hawks."Nearly 40 per cent of the newly trained pilots will be sent on this special mission. We hope the contract will be signed before the end of the financial year," Air Marshal B.K. Pandey, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, IAF, told The Times of India on Monday.<br /><br />BAe Systems will deliver 66 pieces, with 22 coming from the UK in the read-to-fly mode and the remaining built under licence in India at the HAL.<br /><br />The IAF has already taken up work in Bidar — the home for the Hawks — on a war-footing. "We will have to extend the runway and also strengthen it. We will look into the maintenance aspects and decide upon the kind of hangar and its specifications. In short, Hawks will have to create specialised maintenance facilities for Hawks," Air Marshal Pandey said.<br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Additional land has been earmarked near the Bidar air base for the firing range once the pilots start training on the Hawks.<br /><br />Backed with over 500 PCs, the IAF is giving e-learning a new thrust. The software development centre at the Air Force Training College in Jalahalli has begun the development of in-house software. "The classrooms with smart boards and hi-tech training aids are in place,’’ he said.<br /><br />The first batch of pilots have finished the training on an indigenously developed simulator of AN-32. "The Kiran simulator is undergoing upgradation and we are acquiring simulators for all kinds of aircraft we fly," Pandey said. He was recently conferred the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.<br /><br />The living standards of those below the officer rank are given a fresh look. Housing facilities for married persons will be given priority and within two years 488 houses will be constructed in the first phase.<br /><br />Pandey said the Training Command has increased the degree of difficulty of exercises so as to separate the best from the rest. "Our rates of rejects have gone up. All the changes are focussed around the individual. We must have competent people flying, maintaining and administering the IAF," Pandey added.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>