RCAF Retires Hawk & Pilot Trng in Canada
https://theaviationist.com/2024/03/11/farewell-ct-155/
Farewell CT-155: RCAF Retires Hawks, Halting Pilot Training Within Canada
On March 8, 2024, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) announced that it will officially be retiring its fleet of CT-155 Hawk advanced trainer aircraft. 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (419e Escadron d’entraînement à l’appui tactique), in charge of training the RCAF’s fixed wing fighter pilots, have held a cessation of operation ceremony last Friday in Cold Lake, Alberta.
The occasion also marked the beginning of a period of hiatus for the RCAF’s fixed wing training ops. This decision stems from the air force’s decision to transition its current CF-18 fleet to the F-35A. As of now it is yet unknown how long the RCAF will cease its flight training ops for.
The decision to phase out the aging CT-155 fleet has been long forthcoming. With the RCAF’s contract with CAE for training its pilots on the CT-155 ending this year and the decision to acquire F-35s approved, the time to overhaul the Hawks have finally come.
The CT-155 Hawks, originally built to the Hawk 115 standard, is based on a 30 plus year old design at heart, despite its upgrades. A total of 22 aircraft were initially delivered to the RCAF, mainly flying with 419 squadron and a handful with 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (CFFTS / 2e École de pilotage des Forces canadiennes)…..
However, with the RCAF’s decision to replace the aging CF-18 fleet with the F-35A, the need for a new training jet to prepare for the 5th generation fighter has become apparent. Especially with the Canadian government’s deal to buy 88 F-35As being announced on Jan. 9, 2023, the Hawk fleet have started to become outdated.
While the RCAF is in search for a suitable training aircraft, the national fast jet training program has been put on hold.
During its period of hiatus, the RCAF will partner with its allies to train their future fighter pilots. One of the first steps of this interim solution is mainly through the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program based at Sheppard Air Base, Texas.
Future RCAF pilots will also be diverted to other NATO countries with similar programs such as the Fighter Lead-in Training (FLT) in Finland and the International Flight Training School in Italy…..