Free Republic

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...

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has selected the Alenia Aermacchi M346 as its new advanced jet trainer, in preference to the Korean Aircraft Industries (KAI) T-50. A joint venture between IAI and Elbit will acquire some 30 aircraft and provide training courses to the IAF under contract. The Israeli defense ministry said that the deal is worth about $1 billion, and that the Italian government has agreed to purchase equipment from the Israeli defense industry worth a similar amount, in offset. KAI officials attending the Singapore Airshow last week made clear their displeasure at the Israeli decision-making process. KAI had...

Israel to buy Italy's M-346 jet trainer for $1b S. Korea threatens to cancel deals because Israel did not choose its T-50 Golden Eagle. The Ministry of Defense has decided to buy the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 jet trainer for the Israel Air Force, rather than South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle, jointly developed by Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) and Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT). The ministry notified the companies of its decision, after the Air Force decided that it preferred the M-346 on the grounds that its performance was better than the T-50. The deal is worth around $1 billion....

Italy offers jet trainer contract sweetener The Italians say they will collaborate on a spy satellite if Israel buys the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 in preference to the South Korean T-50 Golden Eagle. 25 January 12 19:04, Italy has agreed to cooperate with Israel on development of a new spy satellite and to finance the bulk of the cost through reciprocal procurement, if the Ministry of Defense decides to procure the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 jet trainer for the Israel Air Force. The Italians have already agreed to procure at least two AWACS planes made by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE:...

dogfight over Israel By Arie Egozi on January 27, 2011 10:29 PM Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and Barack Obama may soon be engaged in a "dog fight" over Israel. The competition aimed at selecting a new advanced trainer for the Israeli air force (IAF) already has inputs that are not directly connected to the quality and capabilities of the two potential aircraft. The request for information (RFI) for an advanced trainer for the IAF has been issued to KAI from South Korea and to Alenia Aermacchi from Italy. One is making the T-50 the other one the M-346 . It...

Funding woes hamper Israeli air upgrades Published: Sept. 13, 2010 at 1:40 PM TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Budgetary constraints and the planned purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for $2.75 billion are making it difficult for the Israeli air force to upgrade its older aircraft, although an unusual solution has been proposed. In particular, these concerns are hampering plans to phase out Israel's venerable A-4 Skyhawks acquired in 1967 and which were flown in several wars. The small jet's agility and versatility, along with its ability to take heavy damage in combat made it a...

Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, recently carried out the first flight tests of the new sophisticated Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) system That Will Be fitted to the M-346 advanced training aircraft Masters. The HMD system, a true interface between the pilot and aircraft systems, complements the Head-Up Display by offering the pilot to receive attitude, navigation, tactical and mission information directly on the helmet visor, independently of the direction in which he is looking. The HMD system, a true interface Between the pilot and aircraft systems, complements the Head-Up Display by offering the pilot to receive attitude, navigation, tactical and...

Alenia eyes 'son of Yak' for USAF light attack fighter For calling the M-346 jet trainer the 'son of Yak', neither Alenia nor Aermacchi may ever forgive me. But, in my defense, the M-346 is a westernized and updated version of the Yak-130 originally produced by the Yakovlev/Aermacchi joint venture in the early 1990s. Now, this descendant of Soviet aeronautical skills could become Alenia's bid for the US Air Force's potential order for 100 light attack fighter-trainers. The US-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica has confirmed to Flightglobal that the M-346 is being considered for the company's response to the USAF's request...