What plane next for the Red Arrows?
 

It would appear a decision as to what aircraft type is about two years away.

Anyone care to speculate?

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/727...ce-ageing-jets

No, not the F-35 before anyone posts to that effect :)

Harriers would be interesting, imagine the stunts they could perform with VIFF.
Not likely to happen though, maybe they'll use UAVs! :har: Get ahead of the curve.

In all seriousness though, the Eurofighter would probably be the best replacement, certainly the most manoeuvrable of the modern RAF jet line-up. A Tonka is a good aircraft but I don't think she could pull the moves that the BAe Hawk can.

Yeah, I was thinking something along the lines of a Tiffie. Something already tried and tested as well as an airframe the current pilots are already familiar/experienced with.

One question being....if it's an airframe for all jet training (as is the current Hawk), then something even newer may come under consideration.

Read on another forum this morning that the choice of replacement for the T1 Hawk may be the T2 variant.

The hawk has been such an excellent trainer, it's hard to consider an aircraft doing better or replacing it. The hawk has also been used as a light strike aircraft as well. a variant of the already proven Hawk like the T2 makes more sense.


Quote: The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the BAE Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is used by the United States Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonn...s_T-45_Goshawk



McDonnell Douglas obviously thought the hawk design has merits as a trainer.

If its up to the current cut back government they will be lucky to get a 1/4 share of a rented cessna

Costs per T1 Hawk: 16-19 million.

Costs per Eurofighter: 90-120 million.

Eurofighter is too expensive for just a showact. For that money you could get frigates and corvettes for the shrinking Royal navy.

source: http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafvalley/aboutus/ajt.cfm

That is 16 million per aircraft.

Costs for some frigate classes and corvettes:

FRIGATES
Absalon (Denmark)-$269 million
Bertholf National Security Cutter-$641 million
F100 Bazan (Spain)-$600 million
F105 Cristobal Colon (Spain)-$954 million
De Zeven Provincien (Netherlands)-$532 million
FREMM (Franco/Italian)-$745 million
LCS Freedom-$637 million
Holland (Netherlands)-$169 million
LCS Independence-$704 million
Iver Huitfeldt (Denmark)-$332 millon
Nansen (Norway)-$557 million
Sachsen Type 124 (Germany)-$1.06 billion
Valour MEKO A200 (South Africa)-$327 million
F-22P Zulfiquar (China/Pakistan)-$200 million
CORVETTES/OPVs/CUTTERS
Baynunah (UAE)-$137 million
Braunschweig K-130 (Germany)-$309 million
Clyde (Britain)-$47,000,000
Falaj 2 (UAE)-$136 million
Khareef (Oman)-$262 million
Kedah (Malaysia)-$300 million
Knud Rasmussen (Denmark)-$50 million
BAM Maritime Action Ship (Spain)-$116 million
MILGEM corvettes (Turkey)-$250 million
Otago (New Zealand)-$62.6 million
Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)-$76 million
River (Britain)-$31,400,000
Sarah Baartman/ Damen 8313 OPV (South Africa)-$20 million
Sentinel-$47 million
Sigma (Indonesian/Moroccan)-$222 million
Visby (Sweden)-$184 million


source: https://newwars.wordpress.com/warship-costs/

A Hawk T2 would probably be the best option, or a new build trainer. Eurofighter is somewhat expensive for a show-act, I agree.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/s...aunch_news.jpg:03: