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Anticipated fatigue life of RAAF’s Hawk lead-in fighter trainers extended to late 2040s – Jane’s
A major structural test programme has subjected a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Hawk BAE Systems Hawk Mk127 lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) to the equivalent of…

10 August 2020
by Julian Kerr
A major structural test programme has subjected a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Hawk BAE Systems Hawk Mk127 lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) to the equivalent of 50,000 ‘flying’ hours: more than 10 times the actual flying hours currently accrued by most of the RAAF’s 33-strong Hawk fleet.
Based on current usage, the fatigue life remaining in the Hawk airframe would allow the aircraft to continue operations well into the late 2040s, BAE Systems Australia pointed…
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