Military

Industry Partnership Will Cut RAF Hawk Costs

18 Jun 2007 | Ref. 170/2007

RAF Valley, United Kingdom. – BAE Systems has formed a significant new industry partnership to save costs and improve efficiencies in the delivery of the Hawk Integrated Operational Support (IOS) contract.

The Hawk IOS contract, between BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), will ensure agreed sortie rates can be carried out by the UK’s key training aircraft, the Hawk TMk1, through to 2011, while at the same time saving costs for the MoD.

BAE Systems has signed a £38 million contract with Babcock Defence Services that will see the two companies work in partnership to deliver elements of the Hawk IOS contract, with Babcock Defence Services delivering first and second line maintenance activity, including bay maintenance, at RAF Valley and RAF Leeming. It will do the same at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose from April 2008.

In addition to the contract, BAE Systems has signed a teaming agreement with Babcock Defence Services that provides both companies with an incentive to look for efficiency improvements in delivering the Hawk IOS contract.

Phil Davidson, training solutions support director, BAE Systems, said: “The Hawk IOS contract breaks new ground for BAE Systems in its relationship with the RAF and Royal Navy, in that forward (i.e. flight line) operations are being directly supported by BAE Systems personnel alongside our Babcock Defence Services colleagues.

“I am sure that with the capabilities BAE Systems and Babcock Defence Services jointly possess we can continue to deliver the high availability levels required by the RAF and Royal Navy, while improving efficiency and reducing costs for the UK MoD.

”The Hawk IOS contract is a prime example of BAE Systems working in partnership with the wider UK supply chain to deliver benefits to the frontline customer – a demonstration of the Defence Industrial Strategy in action.”

Under the Hawk IOS contract, the three Hawk operating bases at RAF Valley, RAF Leeming and RNAS Culdrose, will be supported directly by BAE Systems and Babcock Defence Services. Support services at these stations will provide fleet and supply chain management, forward and depth maintenance, and technical support. In addition, a spares availability service will be provided to RAF Scampton, home of the RAF Aerobatics Team, the Red Arrows, and to MoD Boscombe Down.

About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is a global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 88,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £13.7 billion pounds sterling (US25.4 billion dollars) in 2006.

For further information contact:
John Neilson, BAE Systems
Tel: + 44 (0) 1252 384795 Mob: + 44 (0)7802 337704
john.neilson@baesystems.com

Paul Earnshaw, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1772 855572 Mob: +44 (0) 7801 715 851
Paul.h.earnshaw@baesystems.com