A MAJOR deal for more planes to train America's 'Top Gun' fighter pilots is being celebrated by East Lancashire aerospace workers.

The latest news - which is subject to approval from the American defence budget - will see work on the T45 Goshawk project at British Aerospace, Samlesbury, extend from the current finish date of 2003 to at least 2007.

It is also seen as a major vote of confidence from the Americans in the work carried out by the Samlesbury site which employs more than 4,000 people.

More than 100 workers are directly involved in the T45 Goshawk project at Samlesbury with another 300 throughout BAe's military aircraft division at Warton and other sites.

The Samlesbury site manufactures a large part of the airframe of the T45 plane which is used by the US Navy to train its frontline combat pilots. Since 1988 it has produced more than 100 fuselages for the aircraft which are matched with wings made at BAe's Brough site in Humberside before being shipped to Boeing's St Louis plant for final assembly.

The success of the project saw production at Samlesbury last year being increased to 15 aircraft a year and the latest order plans will help secure work for at least eight years.

The current order stands at 187 planes which were due to be completed by 2003. But now the US Navy wants another 47 aircraft which would extend the Samlesbury workload through to the year 2007.

The T45 is based on the Hawk aircraft but is specially adapted for use on aircraft carriers. It is a joint development between British Aerospace and American aerospace giant Boeing.

US Navy pilots are currently trained in three aircraft including the T45 but by the end of the year it will be the only one used.

"Our customer is delighted with the product and how it performs and that has obviously helped extend the number of aircraft the navy wants, " said Steve Jones,

BAe's T45 Goshawk project director.

More than £1.4 million has recently been invested in the production facilities for the T45 at Samlesbury.

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