Government orders £800m worth of training jets
The Government has placed an £800 million order for 20 new Hawk training jets from BAE Systems.
The order for the 20 new planes will be welcomed with relief by BAE Systems’ employees. The company had warned that thousands of jobs could be under threat if it did not receive the order.
The Government has an option to take on a further 24 of the Advanced Jet Trainer. The planes are expected to enter service in 2008 and will replace some of the training jets at RAF Valley.
Hawk and Brough Managing Director Mark Parkinson said, ‘This excellent news keeps the Hawk at the leading edge of fast jet training technology and reinforces its position as the world’s most successful advanced jet trainer. We will now work hard to deliver to the MoD an aircraft that will meet all their requirements and represents value for money for the taxpayer.’
BAE Systems announced that the order would mean that the redundancy notice for 470 posts at BAE Systems Brough would not be exercised.
The company thanked its employees, trade unions and its local MPs for their support in getting the contract.
The company’s Chief Executive Mike Turner added, ‘We recognise that this has been an important and difficult decision for the Government in the context of spending priorities. The UK commitment to Hawk will directly secure 2,200 jobs across BAE SYSTEMS at Brough and 70 companies within the supplier base, reflects the intent of the Government’s Defence Industrial Policy issued under the authority of the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in October 2002, and will therefore be widely welcomed by the UK defence industry.’
The Government had considered purchasing the jets through the private finance initiative (PFI) that would of seen the Government leasing a number of the aircraft’s flying hours over a period of some 20 years while the company retained ownership of the aircraft.
However the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon stated that this deal would not have been good value for money for the taxpayer.
Mr Hoon stated, ‘This is excellent news for BAE Systems, its employees at the Brough factory on Humberside, where Hawk 128 will be designed and built, and for the several hundred people involved in the UK supply chain for the aircraft.’
Kevin Curran, General Secretary of the GMB union welcomed the safeguarding of UK manufacturing jobs.
Mr Curran commented, ‘This is good news for GMB members and for UK manufacturing. I am very pleased that the Government has decided to support British manufacturing and British jobs. The Hawk contract means job security for our members and work for the wealth-creating sector of the UK economy.’
