The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a request for information (RFI) to industry for a new Jet Training System (JTS) to replace the ageing BAE Systems Hawk T1 and T2 jet trainers used by the Royal Air Force (RAF).
The RFI, which was issued on 8 August 2026, has a submission deadline of 11 September 2026 and is calling for bids with a significant degree of UK workshare.
The JTS programme will replace the dozen or so Hawk T1s remaining in service with the RAF Aerobatic Team (RAFAT), otherwise known as the Red Arrows, as well as the RAF’s 28-strong Hawk T2 advanced jet trainer fleet.
The RAF’s overall Hawk replacement requirement is understood by Warsight to cover around 25 aircraft for Phase 4 training (advanced jet and lead-in fighter training (LIFT)), along with a fleet of 15 RAFAT aircraft.
As noted by Warsight in a feature on the RAF’s Hawk replacement issues published in June 2026, the platforms being bid will not be British designs. BAE Systems has joined Boeing and Saab to bid the T-7A Red Hawk, while Leonardo UK is bidding its Italian parent company’s M-346 Master and Korea Aerospace Industries, in conjunction with Lockheed Martin UK, is offering the TF-50A version of the T-50 Golden Eagle. It is also likely that Turkish Aerospace will bid its Hürjet.
The Hawk out-of-service dates
The out-of-service date for the Hawk T1s remaining with the Red Arrows is 2030, but these aircraft are already coming under pressure to achieve that. In May 2026 it was announced that the Red Arrows would complete their 2026 schedule of aerobatic shows with a formation of seven jets instead of their classic ‘Diamond Nine’ formation. The RAF stated that this was to “support the sustainable management of the Hawk T1 fleet and prepare the team for a transition to a future aircraft type”.
The Hawk T2s also have maintenance problems that have put significant pressure on RAF fast jet pilot training capabilities. In mid-2025 the Hawk T2 fleet’s original out-of-service date of 2040 was officially brought forward to 2033, bringing together the two separate Hawk T1 and T2 replacement requirements into one.
A broad remit
The JTS will need to support UK trainee fast jet pilots across three generations of combat aircraft: the RAF’s current fleet of 4.5-generation Eurofighter Typhoons, the fifth-generation fleet of F-35s operated by the RAF and Royal Navy (currently F-35Bs but expected to include F-35As in future) and ultimately the sixth-generation Tempest fighter being developed under the UK-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
