Hawk T.1A : A Shadow of Its Potential

Machinery of War Discussion Aircraft
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With the latest update, we’ve been met with the introduction of the BAe Hawk T and Hawk T (FRP), respectively the fourth and fifth members of the Hawk family of aircraft. This was a long awaited aircraft which represents both the UK’s military aviation industry and the famous aerobatic display team, the Red Arrows.

The variant we received in-game is the Hawk T.1A, the armed variant of the Hawk T.1 introduced in 1983. This variant was capable of both mounting the 30mm ADEN cannon (which is present in-game) and the AIM-9L (which is not). From what you’ve read thus far, you’d expect this vehicle to come into the game with the AIM-9L, but Gaijin has wisely avoided doing so, as this vehicle completely lacks countermeasures.

But because of this, this vehicle sits at 7.7, whilst something like the Hawk 200 sits at 10.7. You’d usually think this is something positive, but in the case of the Hawk T.1A, it isn’t. Whilst the flight model of the Hawk T.1A is average at best, the firepower is quite mediocre to bad, with it having both limited damage and limited ammunition.

Because of this, the Hawk T.1A is quite unforgiving and unenjoyable to play, with the vehicle having no special attributes unlike its peers at this BR. The vehicle doesn’t accelerate particularly well, it climbs decently, but it doesn’t turn especially well, nor does it have exceptional speed to make up for its flaws.

This vehicle truly has the potential to be something of quality, but it simply sits at an awkward BR and doesn’t do anything exceptionally well, or even well in most regards. All of this is simply because Gaijin refuses to give the vehicle its historical armament, air to air missiles.

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I’m not suggesting that this vehicle should receive the AIM-9L, since it’d sit at far too high of a BR and would inevitably be overshadowed by the Hawk 200, but rather it receive the AIM-9D or AIM-9G, a missile it never operated in service but was entirely compatible with.

Britain is also home to vehicles equipped with the AIM-9G, including one without countermeasures, the Jaguar GR.1, so this shouldn’t be anything alien. The Hawk T.1A could easily sit at 9.0 or 9.3 with either the AIM-9D or AIM-9G, making it a more viable and interesting vehicle to play whilst also resolving its limited firepower.

Missing historical armaments or payload options:

Would you like to see the following historical armaments and payload options added to the Hawk T.1A, or would you prefer it to remain the same? Please vote below!

  • I’d rather the vehicle receive the listed historical armaments and payload options
  • I’d rather not the vehicle receive the listed historical armaments and payload options
0 voters

If you have other opinions which don’t match either the post or poll, please explain why in this topic instead.

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AIM-9B would be interesting.

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Well at least it’s not the Yak-130 which does have countermeasures to go with its R-73s, both of which Gaijin has denied.
I think even without countermeasures the Hawk would do just fine with AIM-9L at say 10.0. High offense low defense. And much preferable to AIM-9Gs seeing aircraft from WW2.

Also, are there no countermeasure pods or anything that are options?

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Im inclined to want a BR reduction over any form of IR missile for it, but everything else… 100% want

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Before originally posting this topic, I was considering whether I should mention the AIM-9B as a suitable missile for this vehicle, but it doesn’t really make sense from a balancing perspective. The vehicle would suffer more at 8.3 than it would at 9.0 or 9.3, and there’s also the electrical limitation, as it only operated the LAU-7A and would require an adaptor to utilise the AIM-9B iirc.

If it could use the AIM-9B however, I’d take that over nothing tbf

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I’d honestly love to see everything else. The AIM-9 is a bit of a debatable topic for this vehicle, especially since we won’t know how the vehicle will truly perform until we receive the missile, but I see no reason why everything else needs to be constrained.