Posted on 06/18/2017 8:27:25 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Italian defence group Leonardo SpA on Sunday unveiled the new fighter attack version of its M-346 advanced trainer, saying many air forces had already expressed interest in the planes, especially in Asia and South America.
Leonardo, which presented the new fighter variant at the Paris Air Show, said the M-346 fighter would be equipped with the Grifo multi-mode fire control radar, also built by Leonardo.
It said the new fighter was designed to help different air forces meet their needs rapidly by building on a common base.
"The M-346FA is of interest to many international customers, specifically in the Far East and South America," a spokeswoman said. She declined to identify any specific potential customers.
"The M-346FA’s characteristics make it not only an excellent advanced trainer, but also a light fighter aircraft capable of carrying out operational missions at far lower costs than those of frontline fighters," Leonardo said.
It said the jets had seven pylons for external weapons loads, enabling it to carry 2,000 pounds of external weapons. It said the plane could carry out air-to-surface, air-to-air and tactical reconnaissance missions.
It also said the jets could perform combat air patrol missions for more than two hours at a 35,000 foot altitude.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Not cutting edge, but looks business-like.
I think I see a design flaw... the sweep of those wings won’t allow it to fly backwards very quickly.
It’s not French. :P
Can it “drop” its weapons and raise its wings?
No, because it’s half-Russian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alenia_Aermacchi_M-346_Master
FYI: Our Air Force and Navy aviators may soon be flying these as trainers - the M346 is a candidate in the T-X trainer competition.
“T-X program
In the United States, Alenia Aermacchi is to submit the M-346 for the United States Air Force’s T-X program to replace the aging Northrop T-38 Talon, rebranding the aircraft as the Leonardo DRS T-100 Integrated Training System. Alenia originally intended to be the prime contractor, anticipating moving the final assembly location from Italy to the United States if the bid succeeds. About 350 aircraft are expected to be ordered, further purchases could lead to over 1,000 aircraft being purchased overall.[51] In January 2013, Alenia Aermacchi signed a letter of intent with General Dynamics C4 Systems, who intended to serve as the prime contractor for the T-X bid; however, General Dynamics announced their withdrawal in March 2015.[52][53] On January 1, 2016, Alenia Aermacchi was absorbed into a new consolidated corporation titled: Leonardo-Finmeccanica. In February 2016, it was announced that Raytheon, who shall serve as the prime contractor, had teamed up with Leonardo-Finmeccanica to offer an advanced variant of the M-346 for the T-X program called the T-100.[54]
On 25 January 2017, Raytheon announced that it had withdrawn as prime contractor and American partner in the T-X competition.[55] On 8 February 2017, Leonardo confirmed that it would remain in the T-X competition alone, with Leonardo DRS, its US subsidiary, serving as prime contractor.[56]”
The general problem for any Italian company is that to sell the things, someone at the company has to answer the phone.
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