MIN 43/97 Wednesday, 26 February, 1997
ROLLS-ROYCE ENGINE SELECTED FOR LEAD-IN FIGHTER
The Minister for Defence, Mr McLachlan, announced today that the Rolls-Royce Adour Mk 871-05 engine had been selected to power the Australian Defence Force's new Lead-In Fighter.
British Aerospace was selected late last year as the preferred tenderer to supply the Hawk 127 aircraft to provide introductory fighter pilot training and other air support tasks for the ADF.
Mr McLachlan said following its selection, British Aerospace had been requested to compete the Rolls-Royce Adour and Allied Signal F-124 engines as contenders for the multi-million dollar project.
The Minister said the competition had allowed the Commonwealth to fully explore the trade-offs between cost and risk in the two engines.
"Both engines were capable of meeting the performance requirements of the Lead-In Fighter," he said. "However, after careful consideration, the Rolls-Royce Adour, which is currently in service in the Hawk aircraft, was selected as the powerplant for the Australian aircraft."
The final contract for the Hawk aircraft and associated maintenance and logistics support is expected to be signed later this year.
The Minister said Australian industry would play a major role in the assembly, testing and on-going support for the new aircraft including the Rolls-Royce Adour engine.
The Hawks will be introduced into service from the year 2000 to replace the RAAF's ageing Macchi fleet and are expected to be in operation for the next 25 years.
Further information:
Ministerial
Jim Bonner Ph 06-2777800 or 0419 438490
Departmental
Richard Hogan Ph 06-2652913 (b/h) 06-2958171 (a/h)