The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and BAE Systems, respectively. It has been used in a training capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft. Operators of the Hawk include the Royal Air Force (notably the Red Arrows display team) and a considerable number of foreign military operators. The Hawk is still in production in the UK and under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with over 900 Hawks sold to 18 operators around the world. In July 2012, Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith confirmed that Australia's fleet of Hawk Mk 127s would be upgraded to a similar configuration to the RAF's Hawk T2 as part of a major mid-life upgrade. The Hawk T2 was considered to be a competitor for the United States Air Force's T-X program to acquire a new trainer fleet, but in February 2015 Northrop Grumman determined the Hawk's shortfalls made it ill-suited for the program requirements and dropped it as their offering.
The Jetworks Display Team comprises of 2 x SIAI-Marchetti S.211 jet trainers flying as a Syncro Pair and flown by ex-RAAF Engineer Steve Gale and ex-RAAF Pilot and Roulettes Leader Steve Baker. The aircraft were previously operated by the Republic of Singapore Air Force and flown out of RAAF Pearce, WA in the training role before being replaced by the Pilatus PC21. The SIAI-Marchetti S.211 (later Aermacchi S-211) is a turbofan-powered military trainer aircraft designed and originally marketed by Italian firm SIAI-Marchetti. Some 60 aircraft have been sold to air forces around the world. Aermacchi bought the production rights in 1997. The redesigned M-311 (now M-345) is currently under development by Alenia Aermacchi. SIAI-Marchetti began work on the aircraft in 1976 as a private venture basic trainer, hoping to offer it to the company's existing customer base of small air forces operating their piston-engined SF.260. Formally announced in Paris the following year, interest was strong enough to justify the construction of two prototypes, the first of which flew on 10 April 1981. The Singapore Air Force placed the first order for ten aircraft in 1983. The S-211 is a small tandem two-seat shoulder-wing monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear and powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4C turbofan. Also, the aircraft was designed for a secondary close air support capability with four underwing hardpoints for the carriage of weapons and other external stores. The S-211A was a slightly modified and updated variant of the S-211, was a losing contender in the USA's Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) aircraft selection. Among the seven to enter, the Raytheon/Pilatus entry won, which became the T-6 Texan II. The S-211 team was initially partnered with Grumman, and then Northrop Grumman after 1994. Since the 1990s, the Philippine Air Force has been using the S-211 as a Trainer with secondary Attack Capability. These were redesignated as AS-211s and nicknamed as "Warriors". With the retirement of the F-5 fighters in 2005, the additional task of air defense was assigned to it as well. Because of this, the Philippine Air Force initiated some improvements to the AS-211s to improve its combat capability through a series of programs and innovations. The first program was called "Project Falcon" which installed the Norsight Optical Sight from retired F-5s into the AS-211. The program was initiated by Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Dela Cruz, the Group Commander of the 5th Tactical Fighter Group. This was followed by the "Project Falcon Uniform" program which repainted the aircraft with a 2-tone Light and Dark Ghost Gray paint scheme along with low visibility markings to reduce their overall visibility. The "Project Falcon Hear" program saw the optimizing of air-ground communications on the AS-211 by upgrading and installing the AN/ARC-34 UHF radios from the F-5A/B. These aircraft were also fitted with a Belly Gun Pod designed, developed and manufactured by Philippine company Aerotech Industries Philippines, Inc. (AIPI). Each Pod is equipped with an M3 .50 cal Machine Gun, an automatic charger and approximately 240 rounds of .50 cal ammunition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIAI-Marchetti_S.211
