UK air force fighter jet crashes on training exercise

LONDON: UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting on Wednesday said an investigation was underway after an air force Hawk fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in north Wales.

A video clip posted on social media showed what appeared to be the two pilots ejecting moments before the aircraft nosedived and crashed in flames.

The Hawk T2 aircraft had been flying out of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley station on Anglesey, an island off the northwest coast of Wales.

"On take-off there was an orange flame and as it accelerated it was basically on fire," a witness told the regional news website North Wales Live.

Streeting, speaking at a conference in London, said the pair were being treated in hospital "and of course we're investigating how and why this happened."

The pilots are believed to have suffered minor injuries, according to police.

The RAF added on X that it had decided "to temporarily pause Hawk T1 and T2 operations as a precautionary measure whilst investigations are ongoing."

The Hawk T1 and newer T2 versions are transonic, two-seat training aircraft used to train fast jet pilots.