Alenia Aermacchi Rolls Out Singapore’s First M-346 Advanced Trainer

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will soon receive its first M-346 advanced trainer from Alenia Aermacchi. ST Aerospace, the prime contractor, teamed with Alenia Aermacchi and Boeing in 2010 to supply 12 M-346 aircraft and ground based training system for the RSAF’s Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) programme. “We signed the contract less than two years ago and today we have rolled out the first of twelve M-346 aircraft for the RSAF’s Advanced Jet Trainer programme. This is a particularly important moment for our company, a great team job has been achieved in strict collaboration with our industrial counterpart, ST Aerospace, and we are proud to celebrate together with them,” said Giuseppe Giordo, Alenia Aermacchi’s CEO. The M-346 has been designed using the latest “design-to-cost” and “design-to-maintain” concepts, with an avionics system modeled on those used in new-generation fighter aircraft, such as Eurofighter, Gripen, Rafale, F-22 and the F-35. The M-346 received its Military Type Qualification Certificate from the Italian Ministry of Defence - National Armaments Directorate in June 2011, an essential requirement to certify the full correspondence to aircraft specifications and to international military requirements. In September 2010, the Singapore Government signed the contract for 12 M-346 and ground-based training systems under the AJT replacement programme.