Free Republic

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...

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...