The order for 20 Hawk 128 jets, with an option for up to 24 more, safeguards hundreds of jobs at BAE Systems.

The defence ministry had reportedly been under pressure to put the contract out to international tender, a move which had imperiled BAE's factory in Brough, Yorkshire, northern England.

In May, the company was forced to issue provisional redundancy notices to 470 workers at the plant in anticipation of losing the order, but these had now been withdrawn, BAE said, professing itself "delighted".

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said the "current expectation" was that the military would buy all 44 jets.

"Hawk 128 is an excellent aircraft. It is the right choice for training the pilots of our future advanced fighter jets and the right decision for our defence industrial capability," he said in a statement.

The aircraft, due to enter service in 2008, will train future Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots for the Tornado, Harrier and Typhoon -- the British name for the Eurofighter -- and later the Joint Strike Fighter, the Ministry of Defence said.

Earlier models of the Hawk are currently used for this role, but there had been speculation that BAE could lose out this time around to a foreign rival, such as the Italian Aermacchi M346 trainer.

Keith Hailes, the top union official at the Brough factory, said workers had been through an "emotional roller-coaster" in recent weeks because of continuing speculation over the contract.

BAE chief executive Mike Turner said the firm recognised it had been "an important and difficult decision for the government in the context of spending priorities."

"We are delighted by this decision," he said.

WAR.WIRE