Johannesburg - A British-owned flying laboratory has arrived in South Africa to help in the testing of the engines that will be fitted to the SA Air Force's new generation Hawk training aircraft, the contractor BAE Systems said on Tuesday.

The Hawk New Demonstrator Aircraft (HNDA) landed at Denel Aviation's plant at Johannesburg International Airport this weekend following a four-day ferry flight from the British defence giant's military aircraft centre at Warton, Lancashire in the UK with stops in Pisa (Italy), Luxor (Egypt), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Nairobi (Kenya).

The company said the HNDA would be based in South Africa for at least eight months.

It was excepted to play a central role in the flight development of the new Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour 951 engine which South Africa has ordered for its Hawk lead-in fighter trainer fleet, due for delivery from 2005.

The SAAF is the launch customer for the upgraded Adour engine.

Rolls-Royce, Turbomeca, Denel Aviation, BAE Systems and the SAAF are involved in the development programme.

Initial engine development work was done in Britain.

The HNDA's arrival in South Africa heralded the more important second phase of the work, with the engine being tested under typical local operating conditions, the company said.

"This is good news for the SAAF and South Africa as it marks the commencement of crucial pre-delivery customisation of the Hawk's new engine for the SAAF. Clearly the combined Hawk and Gripen programme is on track and we look forward to delivering these complementary aircraft into SAAF service from 2005," said Stuart McIntyre, BAE Systems' executive director for South Africa.

South Africa has ordered 24 Hawk LIFT and 28 Gripen multi/swing-role fighters from BAE Systems and Saab in a joint package.

The two-seater Hawk is the world's most popular military jet trainer and has been selected for fighter pilot training by 18 customers, including the Royal Air Force, the Nato Flying Training Centre in Canada, the Royal Australian Air Force and the air forces of Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Finland, Switzerland, Singapore, Kenya and Bahrain.

A unique feature of Hawk is its open cockpit architecture which means it can be configured to replicate the cockpit layout of almost any front-line fighter.

This translates directly into considerably reduced costs and risks associated with initial training on supersonic advanced front-line fighter aircraft, the company says.

The Hawk LIFT customised for South Africa will largely replicate the Gripen avionics and systems.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and www.news24.co.za