The Royal Air Force of Oman has taken delivery of its first Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft.
The two Mark 166 aircraft arrived at Masirah Air Base on July 29th and will now prepare pilots for life in the cockpit of its fast jet fleet, which now includes the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The aircraft were the first batch of Hawks which will be delivered to the Sultanate over the coming months as part of an order placed in December 2012.
In May, the first Hawk and Typhoon aircraft were formally presented to the customer at a ceremony held at BAE Systems’ Military Air & Information business in the UK, in front of an audience including His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Saud al Busaidi, the Sultanate of Oman’s Minister Responsible For Defence Affairs (MRDA) and the Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman, Air Vice-Marshal Mattar bin Ali bin Mattar Al Obaidani.
Hawk is one the world’s most proven military aircraft trainer with more than 1,000 having been sold to air forces across the world, delivering the pilots of the future.
Using airborne simulation technology, students are put at the controls of the latest radar, weapons systems and defensive aids simulation technology, providing a unique ‘brain training’ environment to prepare them for life in the cockpit of new and next generation combat jets like the Typhoon and F-35.