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McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·first flew 1988· naval trainer aircraft

🛩️ light / GA jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. USN T-45A Goshawk Trainer: Lt. j.g. John A. Ivancic· Public domain
  2. 2. Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft makes an arrested landing: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde· Public domain
  3. 3. T-45A Goshawk 03: Lt. j.g. John A. Ivancic· Public domain
  4. 4. T-45A Goshawk 04: Lt. j.g. John A. Ivancic· Public domain
  5. 5. US Navy 100205-N-9928E-178 apt. Joseph W. Kuzmick, from Bremerton, Wash., commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), launches from the ship in a T-45C Goshawk: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Josue L. Escobosa· Public domain
  6. 6. 010427-N-1056R-006 T-45 Catapult Launch: U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Travis Ross· Public domain
  7. 7. 165471 A-128 T-45C TW-1 VT-9 (3147330046): Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK· CC BY 2.0
  8. 8. A T-45 Goshawk lands aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt: (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony N. Hilkowski/Released) 140607-N-ZF498-291· Public domain
  9. 9. Boeing T-45C Goshawk RFront SNF 16April2010 (14444024817): Valder137· CC BY 2.0
  10. 10. NAVY Training Air Wing Two (TW-2) 288 - 165642 McDonnell Douglas T-45C Goshawk (5870276513): Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Lt. j.g. John A. Ivancic· Public domain

what is it?

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is used by the United States Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.

How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 9.4 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 1,006 km/htop speed
  • range 1,296 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 6,124 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 221made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 38 years ago, in 1988.
  • Top speed is 7.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 9.4 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Range of 1,296 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1988-04-16
introduced
1991
status
still flying
number built
221
role
naval trainer aircraft
origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
makers
Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, BAE Systems
engines
1× Rolls-Royce Turbomeca F405-RR-401
crew
2
length
12 m
wingspan
9.4 m
height
4.1 m
max take-off weight
6,124 kg
top speed
1,006 km/h
range
1,296 km
ceiling
12,954 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family

↑ BAE Systems Hawkparent

Sources: Wikidata Q1193752, Wikipedia: McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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