BAE SYSTEMS is to open an office in the Arabian Gulf

BAE SYSTEMS is to open an office in the Arabian Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain to support the contract, announced earlier this year by the Bahrain Defence Force, for the establishment of an indigenous Flying Training School for the Bahrain Defence Force.

The contract forms the final part of a four-phase approach to flying training, comprising pilot selection, basic flying training in Slingsby Firefly aircraft, synthetics and simulation, ultimately leading to Hawk Jet advanced flying training.

The BAE SYSTEMS office in Bahrain will be in the capital Manama and is expected to be fully operational within the next few months.

"This move underlines our commitment to the Kingdom of Bahrain and to fulfilling a contract which has demonstrated the leading position the Hawk aircraft has, in Arab markets, for advanced jet trainers,� said Simon Keith, BAE SYSTEMS' Managing Director, Middle East.

"We look upon our work in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the development of its Flying Training School as a partnership which will bring out the best in both of us.�

Bahrain will become the fifth Hawk aircraft user in the Gulf Co-operation Council.

The contract is constituted under a Government-to-Government Memorandum of Understanding, which underpins the close relationship between the two nations, and particularly between the Royal Bahrain Air Force (RBAF) and Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF).

Today's announcement comes hard on the heels of the UK government's announcement that it had selected the latest generation of Hawk aircraft, the Hawk Mk 128, as its new Advanced Jet trainer for the 21st century.