Overview The Hawk 200 is a single-seat, single engine
light multirole fighter with a small visual signature and high manoeuvrability. It has a low-mounted
cantilever wing and is powered by a single turbofan engine. The Hawk 200 differs from the earlier Hawks in having a new forward fuselage in which the forward cockpit area which normally houses a pilot is replaced by an electronics bay for avionics and onboard systems, including a
fire control computer, multi-mode
radar,
laser rangefinder and
forward-looking infrared (FLIR). The Hawk 200 also has an upgraded wing which, in addition to four wing pylons seen in previous Hawks, also has wingtip missile support as well as greater wing area, increased wing droop, larger
flaps and an optional
mid-air refuelling capability.
Weapons air-to-air missile The Hawk 200 has 7 external store points with four underwing pylons, an under-fuselage pylon, and wingtip air-to-air missile stations. The range of external stores which the aircraft can carry includes
air-to-air missiles (AAM), a
gunpod,
rocket launchers,
reconnaissance pod, retarded and free-fall bombs up to , runway cratering, anti-personnel and light armour bombs,
cluster bombs (meanwhile prohibited), practice bomb and rocket carriers and external fuel tanks. The Hawk 200 can launch many
NATO standard guided missiles including
AIM-9L Sidewinder AAM,
ASRAAM AAM,
AIM-120 AMRAAM AAM,
AGM-65 Maverick AGM. The Hawk 200 can also carry a variety of bombs, including 113 kg bombs, 240 kg bombs, 540 kg bombs and
Paveway II guided bombs. The
AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles are launched from the wingtip air-to-air missile stations on each wing.
Sensors radar The Hawk 200 is equipped with a Northrop Grumman
AN/APG-66H multi-mode radar, LINS 300 ring laser gyroscope
inertial navigation system, air data sensor, display processor and mission computer. The systems are connected with a dual
MIL-STD-1553B digital bus. The Hawk 200 is also equipped with a
Ferranti laser rangefinder and a
Marconi forward-looking infrared. and automatic or manual
Vinten chaff/
flare dispensers located above the engine exhaust. The AN/APG-66 radar is a
solid state medium range (up to )
pulse-doppler planar array radar designed by the
Westinghouse Electric Corporation (now
Northrop Grumman) for the
F-16 Fighting Falcon. It has ten air-to-surface and ten air-to-ground modes for navigation and weapon aiming purposes. The APG-66H variant of the radar is installed on the Hawk 200, which has a smaller antenna for slightly reduced capabilities.
Cockpit The pilot has a hands-on throttle and stick (
HOTAS) control system and a wide-field-of-view
head-up display (HUD). Using the weapon control panel, which controls the stores management system, the pilot can select the weapons and release mode prior to initiating an attack. As in all other modernised Hawks, the Hawk 200's all-glass cockpit has a
multi-functional colour display, with a dedicated processor and 15-colour graphics symbology generator. There are 27 display formats which provide flight and aircraft data. The cockpit is also compatible with
night-vision goggles. Just outside of the cockpit is an
inflight refuelling probe.
Engine engine on display The Hawk 200 was originally powered by an
Adour 871 two shaft, low bypass ratio turbofan engine from
Rolls-Royce Turbomeca, providing the aircraft with 26.00 kN of thrust. In 2005, the
Adour 951 engine was certified for use on the Hawk 200. The improved Adour 951 has improved performance (rated at thrust) and has up to twice the service life of the Adour Mk 871. It features an all-new fan and combustor, revised HP and LP turbines, and introduces Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). Both engines are non-
afterburning versions of the Adour series, and are fed by
air intakes on both sides of the fuselage. The internal fuel tanks are installed in the
fuselage and compartmented integral tanks located in the wings, containing up to 1361 kg of fuel. Up to two 591-litre drop tanks can also be carried on the inboard underwing pylons. == Operational history ==