Britain 'on back foot' over Red Arrows replacement

A former RAF fighter pilot and Air Vice-Marshal has warned Britain is "on the back foot" due to a delay in choosing a replacement for the ageing Red Arrows jets.

Sean Bell said foreign-based replacements for the Hawk T1 fast jets used by the famous aerobatic team would not offer the same benefits in jobs and prosperity, and that was "a real tragedy".

The Hawk came into service with the RAF in 1976 and is due to be retired in 2030, but the 10-year Defence Investment Plan, which outlines how new equipment will be funded, has been delayed since last autumn.

The MoD said it was working hard to finalise the plan but "no final procurement decisions have been made".

Last year, the government's Strategic Defence Review recommended the Hawks should be replaced by a "cost-effective, advanced trainer jet".

Aircraft offered by BAE Systems, Leonardo and several other companies are considered to be contenders to replace the Hawk.

However, Aeralis, a British aerospace company pitching itself as the only firm able to supply a replacement wholly designed and built in the UK, went into administration last month.

Bell, now a military analyst, said: "The only other alternatives are either an Italian platform, the Leonardo M346, a Boeing platform, the T7A (a collaboration with Saab and BAE Systems), and a Turkish aeroplane, the Hürjet, all of which are very good.

"But none of which will offer us the same jobs and prosperity that I think the Hawk was able to do, and that's a real tragedy.

"The Hawk was an incredible success story, designed and built in the UK, over a thousand sold internationally, an amazing aeroplane."

The Red Arrows, based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, will fly with fewer aircraft for most of their displays in order to preserve the ageing fleet of Hawks.

Pilots will fly in a nine-aircraft formation for King Charles III's birthday flypast in June and to help the US mark its 250th anniversary of independence one month later, but they will fly with seven aircraft for other events from this year.

"I don't think the pilots will miss a beat. They'll still do a spectacular show which will woo the crowds," Bell said.

"But it is a shame that we won't see some of the iconic shapes, particularly the Diamond 9, which have been such a central part of displays for so many years."

Former Red Arrows pilot Andy Wyatt said spectators would not be disappointed, despite the changes.

"The display will look slightly different, there's no doubt about it, but it'll still be the same length of time, about 20 minutes," he said.

"The first half of the show will be all seven aircraft together, forming different shapes.

"The second half will still have that dynamic 10 minutes where the synchro pair will break off and do those spectacular head-on passes."

The Hawk has done "sterling service" since its introduction in the 1970s, Wyatt said.

"The Rolls-Royce Adour engine that the Hawk uses is no longer in production, and getting spares for it is also proving very difficult," he added.

"We're right up against it now, with a replacement due in 2030.

"We don't know what that replacement is going to be. I'm hoping that, over the next few weeks, there will be an announcement."

Defence secretary John Healy told MPs the goverment was "determined" to publish the military spending plan before next month's Nato summit on 7 July.

An MoD spokesperson said: "The Defence Investment Plan will deliver the best kit into the hands of our Armed Forces. We are working hard to finalise it, and it will be published as soon as possible.

"The fast jet trainer programme is ongoing and no final procurement decisions have been made."

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