The Hawk T1 is an all-metal, low-wing, tandem seat training and weapons training aircraft powered by an Adour Mk 151 turbofan engine. Aerodynamically, the aircraft is of conventional design with a moderately swept wing with a 2° dihedral and trailing edge double-slotted flaps. A one-piece all-moving tailplane is swept back and has a 10° anhedral.

The fuselage is comprised of three main parts. The front fuselage accommodates two equipment bays and a pressurised cabin containing two cockpits. The centre fuselage contains the engine, a fuselage fuel tank, a gas turbine starting (GTS) system and a ram air turbine (RAT). The rear fuselage houses a jet pipe bay and has an airbrake hinged to its under-surface.

A retractable step and an extending step on the left side of the fuselage give access to the cockpits, each of which is equipped with a rocket-assisted ejection seat. A single, sideways-hinged canopy is fitted. A dividing windscreen, integral with the canopy, protects the occupant of the rear seat.

A cabin pressurisation and air conditioning system uses air supplied from the engine HP compressor via heat exchangers and a cold air unit. The pressurisation and air conditioning system is controlled from the front cockpit.

The layout of each cockpit is similar. Full control of all systems is from the front cockpit but, for appropriate
systems, monitoring or over-ride facilities are provided in the rear cockpit. The aircraft is flown solo from the front
cockpit. Controls in each cockpit are grouped on consoles and panels as follows:
• Left console – throttle, engine starting, electrical and flying control systems
• Left main panel – weapon selection and radio
• Centre main panel – flight instruments and weapon sighting
• Right main panel – engine instruments
• Right console – avionics equipment

An engine-driven 9kW DC generator supplies an Essential Services busbar via a generator busbar. Two batteries provide power for engine starting and, following generator failure, for those services essential for the normal operation of the aircraft; the batteries are individually switched to the Essential Services busbar.

Two static inverters, supplied from the generator busbar, provide the main AC power requirements. In addition, some equipment is supplied from individual static inverters.

A Central Warning System (CWS) indicates system failures and events which require prompt action. The failures or events are classified and appear as red or amber captions on a Central Warning Panel (CWP) in each cockpit. A light in the head of an engine fire extinguisher push-button illuminates to given an additional warning of fire in the engine bay. Attention lights, located either side of the centre panel in each cockpit, flash in association with the illumination of any CWP caption. The lights in both cockpits are cancelled when either attention light is pressed. All red warnings are accompanied by an audio tone.

All fuel is carried internally in a flexible fuselage tank and an integral wing tank. Total fuel contents are indicated on a single gauge in each cockpit. Fuel transfers automatically from the fuselage into the wing tank and then into a collector section of the wing tank which houses a booster pump. The aircraft fuel system is pressurised from an engine air bleed. The booster pump, which has its own electrical inverter, supplies fuel to the engine fuel system and to the fuel system of the GTS.