Fylde aircraft skills on display in UAE

Aircraft built by thousands of Fylde coast aerospace workers have been in the spotlight at one of the world’s biggest air shows.
A Eurofighter Typhoon being prepared for takeoffA Eurofighter Typhoon being prepared for takeoff
A Eurofighter Typhoon being prepared for takeoff

The Eurofighter Typhoon and Hawk advanced jet trainer, parts for which are built by BAE Systems at its sites in Warton, as well as Samlesbury, were part of its display at the Dubai International Air Show in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), last week.

The biennial show, which is the biggest event of its kind in the region, attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors including the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers and more than 60,000 visitors to a new venue at Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai.

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On display on BAE Systems’ stand was a full-scale replica of the Typhoon, the company’s flagship fighter jet flown by the Royal Saudi Air Force and recently ordered by Oman, and its Hawk TMk2 trainer aircraft.

Phil Clay, business development director who was at the show with the Hawk team, said: “Dubai is one of the world’s biggest air shows and therefore it is crucial that we are represented as a business.

“Hawk is already used to train pilots in Saudi Arabia, India and soon we will be adding Oman to that number, so we were very proud to be talking about our achievements at the show.

“There was a lot of interest around Hawk and I am sure we went a long way towards showing our existing and potential new customers why they should be buying the world’s most advanced and successful training aircraft.”

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Among the visitors to the BAE Systems stand was His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Philip Hammond, the UK Secretary of State for Defence.

The UK officials were supporting the to boost international sales of Typhoon.

The RAF’s Typhoon display pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jamie Norris, demonstrated the capabilities in one of the leading displays at the show.

There were also displays from the Red Arrows, the world-famous display team which fly BAE Systems’ Hawk TMk1 aircraft, the predecessor to its latest trainer, the TMk2.

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Work is underway at BAE Systems’ sites in Lancashire, which employ around 10,500 people, to build the TMk2.

The main fuselage of the aircraft is built at Warton with its wings manufactured at Samlesbury.

Following a successful showing at Dubai, team BAE Systems team moves on to the Al-Ain Air Show in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which gets underway on Saturday.

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