Originally Posted by
Skipness One Foxtrot
The current Hawks are 40 years old now.
That would be like the 1978 Hawk replacing an early Spitfire by way of comparison rather than a Gnat.
Are they getting new Hawks?
The basic design is 45 years old, but the actual aircraft they fly (mostly the same serial numbers since 1978) are not the same bits of structure that they were 40 years ago - I think the nose section is the only original bit (and possibly the smoke generators!), all the rest having been changed in various fatigue programmes.