Alenia Aermacchi to deliver 6 M-346 Jet Trainers to Italy

The Italian Defence Ministry and Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, jointly announced at Paris Air Show 2009 that the agreement to supply six M346 Master aircraft and an integrated training service to the Italian Air Force is in the process of being finalised. The company official said that the agreement confirms the close partnership between the Italian Air Force and Alenia Aermacchi. With this order the Italian Air Force will be the first user of the M-346 Master, one of the most advanced trainer aircraft on the market today, which is aimed at military pilots flying 4th- and 5th-generation combat aircraft. The agreement also includes a series of joint initiatives between Alenia Aermacchi and the Italian Air Force to develop international training support capabilities for the Air Forces of other countries through flight simulators, GBTS (Ground Based Training System) and integrated logistics. The Aermacchi M-346 is the only next-generation trainer aircraft currently in production in Europe. The aircraft can train pilots of future combat planes and can be used in all phases of advanced and pre-operational training, thus reducing flight hours in more costly aircraft. Currently the trainer programme has achieved a comprehensive level of maturity, demonstrating its amazing capabilities and performance and delivering speeds which reached the sound barrier at the end of 2008. Aggressive development and test activities are underway to deliver the capabilities required by the Italian Air Force on time the official said.