Bahrain asks HAL to maintain its Hawk fleet

Bangalore, July 16 (IANS) Bahrain has asked the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to maintain the advanced jet trainer Hawk fleet of its air force.

"Bahrain's transport minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, who also looks after his country's defence, urged our chairman R.K. Tyagi to provide technical support to the British-made jet trainer at a meeting in London," the company said in a statement here Wednesday.

The Indian defence behemoth is participating in the week-long Farnborough international air show being held in London since Monday to showcase its technologies and products for marketing and partnerships.

"Without HAL's participation, our air shows are incomplete. Indian defence firms like HAL can offer a lot to the Gulf Cooperation Council and Bahrain in meeting our needs," Mohamed said on the occasion.

The city-based HAL participated in the Bahrain air show, held at Manama Jan 16-18 this year, and explored the areas of cooperation with the island country.

Bahrain also participated in the Defexpo 2014 held in New Delhi Feb 6-9.

HAL manufactures Hawk under production licence from BAE Systems for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which uses the jet for advance training of its rookie pilots.

The Hawk fleet is based at IAF's Bidar station in north Karnataka, about 700 km from Bangalore.