Draken Europe is to provide aggressor training for the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) using Aero Vodochody L-159Es flown from Teesside International airport, following the retirement of the service's 100 Sqn-oper-ated BAE Systems Hawk T1s. The outsourced service will begin on 1 July and run until 30 June 2025, with the option for an additional three-year period. The RAF - which on 31 March retired its Hawk T1s previously used in this role - argues that the Czech Republic-built jets represent an upgrade over their predecessors. It points to the type's longer endurance, air-to-air radar and radar warning receiver functionality as examples, and notes that their use will "increase the quality of operational training".
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