| Summary/Abstract |
Bengaluru: Former defence minister Arun Jaitely dedicated the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) upgraded Hawk-i to the country August 26. HAL terms it as an indigenous role change development programme to convert the jet trainer into a combat-ready platform. The Hawk-i programme is more than what meets the eye, even though predominantly being an avionics upgrade without altering the airframe/engine, it does open up the possibility of adding a multitude of capabilities never before possible with the Hawk platform. HAL believes that by demonstrating the advertised capabilities it can evince interest from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for upgrading its existing Hawk fleet or to purchase new builds.
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