Chief of the Air Staff calls for early replacement of RAF's Hawk T2 jet trainer

The head of the RAF has said the Hawk T2 is outdated and unreliable - and would like to see it replaced as soon as possible.

Speaking at the Freeman Air and Space Institute for his annual lecture, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said: "We don't get what we need from Hawk today - we get about half of what we should get out of it."

The Hawk T2 is currently used by the RAF to train its fast jet pilots, which he said should be the "pinnacle of our flying training".

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A series of technical problems with the aircraft has put the brakes on UK-based jet training, prompting the RAF to send some student fighter pilots away to Italy and the US.

The Hawk T2's official out-of-service date is 2040, but Air Chf Mshl Sir Rich suggested it be removed from service far earlier.

He said: "Speaking quite frankly, I would like to replace the Hawk T2 as soon as we can, to deliver a more modern, more reliable, greater capacity."

This would mean RAF pilots no longer need to train abroad as some are currently doing.

Another benefit would be a greater influx of foreign pilots coming to the UK from countries like Qatar.

He said having a Hawk replacement - one suggestion being the Leonardo M346 - would "give me capacity to train overseas pilots here, and that's such an important... integral part of it".