New Delhi eyes more Hawk jet trainers for Indian navy

摘要

India's defence ministry is considering the acquisition of an additional batch of BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainers. New Delhi indicates it could purchase as many as 30 examples of the Mk 132 variant, which would be licence-built locally by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). Defence minister Manohar Parrikar says the requirement, chiefly for the navy, is still to be fully defined. "We are negotiating for the price and once the price negotiations are over we can announce the final numbers." The proposed purchase is in addition to a previously announced need for 20 aircraft to be acquired for the air force's Suryakiran aerobatic display team. That deal has yet to be concluded, however.