The first two Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced training aircraft produced for the Israeli air force were delivered today at the Israeli air base in Hatzerim and will gradually replace the TA-4 currently in service.
In July 2012, the Israeli defense ministry had signed with Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, in collaboration with other Israeli and international companies, a contract for the supply of 30 advanced M-346 jet trainers and related training systems to land.
"Today's ceremony is a significant moment for Alenia Aermacchi who, less than two years after signing the contract and three months after the first aircraft roll-out, delivers the first two M-346 LAVI, in full compliance with the program. A result that testifies to the great teamwork carried out in close collaboration with the TOR and Honeywell industrial counterparts, "the company said.
At the Alenia Aermacchi production site in Venegono Superiore (Varese), production activities continued: in addition to the two aircraft delivered today, another six M-346 LAVI of the IAF are already in an advanced stage of final assembly while other 5 aircraft are in assembly phase of the structural parts.
Within 2016 the delivery of 30 ordered aircraft is scheduled.
.jpg)
Source: Alenia Aermacchi
