BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence company, is cutting nearly 600 jobs at two factories after orders for its famous Hawk aircraft have dried up.

The Hawk programme is experiencing a lull in orders after not being selected by the United Arab Emirates for a $1billion (£500million) order last year.

This was the first time that Hawk, the aircraft used by the Red Arrows, had failed to win an export competition that BAE had entered and it raised concerns about the future of the programme.

Some 450 jobs will go from the Hawk's home at Brough, near Hull, and 134 from Woodford, near Manchester, where BAE makes the Nimrod. Most countries are training fewer pilots and therefore require fewer training aircraft - a trend that is likely to continue.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are expected to become the future of fast-attack flight, which will eliminate the need for pilot training.

The RAF bought just 28 new-generation Hawks two years ago as part of a programme to phase out the 134 that it bought in the 1980s.

Singapore and Greece are considering buying Hawks, but the British aircraft now has competition from Lockheed Martin, of the United States, and Aermacchi, of Italy, which are offering their own training jets.

A BAE spokesman said: “People have been predicting the end of the Hawk programme for years, but it continues to be popular. Export competitions take a long time to complete and we are hopeful of winning several big Hawk orders in the future.”

BAE said that it was looking at a transition for Brough to enable it to retain “critical capabilities” but to reduce its dependence on the Hawk.

The company said that it would offer workers voluntary redundancy and would also offer jobs at other factories and retraining.

Unions said that they wanted to look at alternatives to the job cuts.

Bernie Hamilton, national officer for Unite, said: “Only a few days ago the Red Arrows had the Hawks on display to celebrate the RAF's 90th anniversary. Sadly, the future for the skilled workers that built these state-of-the-art jets is now uncertain.

"Unite will resist any compulsory redundancies and will be working with management at both sites to find alternatives.”

Keith Hazlewood, the GMB's national secretary, said that the cuts would hit the community around Brough hard.

He said: “This announcement is a devastating blow for the company and the community of an East Yorkshire village and a further blow to UK manufacturing. GMB is in discussion with the company to try to mitigate the job losses.”

The Brough workforce has gradually decreased from about 3,500 a decade ago as Hawk work has fallen off.

The Hawk first flew 34 years ago and it is the jet that many of the world's fighter pilots have trained in. About 900 Hawk aircraft have been built by BAE for 18 air forces.

Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist for BGC Partners, said: “Hawk is going through a lull and the shortage of orders means less work for Brough. But I do not think Hawk is finished. There are still orders out there for it.”

However, even if BAE wins more export contests, construction may not be done in Britain, because customer countries are demanding a share of the manufacturing.

In 2004, India bought 66 Hawks, but only 24 were built in the UK, with the rest assembled in India.

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