Derived from the British Aerospace Hawk advanced trainer, the US Navy’s carrier-capable T-45A Goshawk prototype was scheduled to fly before the end of 1987, with service entry due in 1990. The Hawk was selected in 1981 as the aircraft element of the new VTX-TS training system, and a fixed-price contract covering the first three production lots and 15 simulators was signed in May 1986. Total cost of the T-45TS package, including 300 production aircraft, two prototypes, simulators, computerised instruction and integration system, and logistics support is estimated at $4,500 million. British Aerospace is the principal airframe subcontractor, building the wings, rear fuselage, canopy, and flight controls, although final assembly and some component manufacture will be undertaken by McDonnell Douglas in the USA.
McDonnell-Douglas / BAe T-45 Goshawk Article
Changes from the basic Hawk design include a twin-wheel nose gear for catapult launching, a strengthened maingear to allow high-sink-rate landings, an arrester hook, rear side-fuselage airbrakes, and a cockpit modified to USN requirements. The empty weight of the T-45A will be 4,261kg, and maximum take-off weight 5,787kg, with an internal fuel load of 1,363kg. Approach speed will be 222km/hr (121 kt), maximum level speed Mach 0.85, and average fuel consumption 620kg/hr on a typical training sortie. Weapons delivery capability for armament training were be incorporated.
The T-45 Goshawk, of which the Navy owns 193 aircraft, is a jet trainer fleet used by the Navy and Marine Corps to qualify new pilots. Originally produced by what is now Boeing and derived from an earlier British aircraft made by BAE Systems, its first iterations joined the US Navy’s fleet in the 1990s.
BAe / Boeing T 45 C Goshawk
Engine: Rolls Royce/Turboméca F 405-RR401 (Adour Mk. 871), 25977 N / 2648 kp
Length: 39.272 ft / 11.97 m
Height: 13.419 ft / 4.09 m
Wingspan: 30.807 ft / 9.39 m
Wing area: 179.651 sq.ft / 16.69 sq.m
Max take off weight: 14083.3 lb / 6387.0 kg
Weight empty: 9399.9 lb / 4263.0 kg
Max. speed: 543 kts / 1006 km/h
Initial climb rate: 6982.28 ft/min / 35.47 m/s
Service ceiling: 42503 ft / 12955 m
Wing load: 78.52 lb/sq.ft / 383.0 kg/sq.m
Range: 999 nm / 1850 km
Crew: 2
Hardpoints: 3
All Aero 