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McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk

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T-45 Goshawk
The T-45A in flight
Role Naval trainer aircraft
Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas
Boeing
BAE Systems
First flight 16 April 1988[1]
Introduction 1991
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 214 as of 31 December 2008[2]
Developed from BAE Hawk

The T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the BAE Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is used by the United States Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.

Design and development

The T-45 Goshawk is a fully carrier-capable version of the Hawk Mk.60.[1][3] It was developed for the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) jet flight training.

The Goshawk's origins began in the mid-1970s, when the US Navy began looking for replacement for its T-2 and TA-4 trainers.[4][5] The US Navy started the VTXTS advanced trainer program in 1978. British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas proposed a version of the Hawk and were awarded the T-45 contract in 1981.[6]

A pair of T-45A Goshawks perform a training flight over Texas.

The Hawk had not been designed for carrier operations and numerous modifications were required for Navy carrier use. These included improvements to the low-speed handling characteristics and a reduction in the approach speed.[4] Other changes were strengthened airframe,[7] more robust and wider landing gear with catapult tow bar attachment and an arresting hook.[4] It features a two-wheel nose landing gear.[8]

The Goshawk first flew in 1988 and became operational in 1991.[8] BAE Systems manufactures the fuselage aft of the cockpit, the air inlets, the vertical stabilizer of the T-45 at Samlesbury, and the wings at Brough, England. Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, manufactures the remainder of the aircraft and assembles them in St. Louis, Missouri.

On 16 March 2007 the 200th airframe was delivered to the US Navy. Their requirements call for 223 aircraft, and the T-45 is slated to continue in service until at least 2035.[9]

Operational history

A T-45 conducting a touch-and-go approach aboard USS Harry S. Truman
T-45 operating from the USS Theodore Roosevelt

The T-45 has been used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training program with Training Air Wing One at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi and Training Air Wing Two at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. The T-45 replaced the T-2C Buckeye intermediate jet trainer and the TA-4J Skyhawk II advanced jet trainer with an integrated training system that includes the T-45 Goshawk aircraft, operational and instrument flight simulators (OFT/IFT), academics, and training integration system support. In 2008, the T-45C also began operation in the advanced portion of Navy/Marine Corps Student Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training with Training Air Wing Six at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

The T-45's A and C models are currently in operational use. The T-45A, which became operational in 1991, contains an analog cockpit design while the newer T-45C, which was first delivered in December 1997, features a new digital "glass cockpit" design. All T-45A aircraft will eventually be converted to a T-45C configuration under the T-45 Required Avionics Modernization Program (T-45 RAMP).

Variants

T-45A
Two-seat basic and advanced jet trainer for the US Navy.
T-45B
Proposed land-based version for the US Navy, which would have been basically a conventional Hawk with a USN cockpit and no carrier capability. The USN had wanted the T-45B to get an earlier training capability, but abandoned the idea in 1984 in favor of less-costly updates to the TA-4J and T-2C.
T-45C
Improved T-45A with glass cockpit, inertial navigation, and other improvements. Existing T-45As are being upgraded to the T-45C standard.

Operators

Current operators of the Hawk are shown in dark blue, former operators in red, and operators of the T-45 Goshawk in light blue.
 United States

Specifications (T-45A)

Data from The International Directory of Military Aircraft, 2002-2003,[3] Navy fact file[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2 (student, instructor)

Performance Armament

  • Usually none. One hardpoint under each wing can be used to carry practice bomb racks, rocket pods, or fuel tanks. A centerline hardpoint can carry a cargo pod for crew baggage.

Avionics

Data from naval-technology.com [1]

Communications Suite

Data from naval-technology.com [4]

See also

External image
Hi-res cutaway of T-45 Goshawk
image icon Hi-res cutaway of T-45 Goshawk by Flight Global.

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b Donald, David: Warplanes of the Fleet, p. 175. AIRtime Publishing Inc, 2004. ISBN 1-880588-81-1
  2. ^ "T-45 Training System". Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b Frawley, Gerard: The International Directory of Military Aircraft, p. 48. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-875671-55-2
  4. ^ a b c Goebel, Greg, "T-45 Goshawk". VectorSite.net, 1 March 2006.
  5. ^ T-45 history page. US Navy, 16 November 2000.
  6. ^ T-45 history on GlobalSecurity.org
  7. ^ Frawley, Gerard: The International Directory of Military Aircraft, Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-875671-55-2
  8. ^ a b c T-45A US Navy fact file
  9. ^ "Boeing Delivers 200th T-45 Trainer to U.S. Navy". Boeing, 16 March 2007.
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