World premiere for Leonardo-Finmeccanica's Aermacchi M-346FT which will make its debut today at the Farnborough Air Show. The M-346FT is the multi-role version of the M-346 characterized by the ability to easily switch from the training aircraft configuration to that for an operational mission.
Mauro Moretti, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Leonardo said: "We invest in the technological development of higher value-added activities because this allows us to stay one step ahead of our competitors. The technological excellence of our trainers is recognized worldwide and today we are preparing to offer our customers an aircraft capable of combining operational requirements and the training needs of Air Forces around the world, guaranteeing high performance and considerable savings. in terms of costs ”.
Based on the advanced M-346 trainer, the FT variant (Fighter Trainer) integrates a series of systems and sensors both for tactical use and for air defense operations, a Tactical Data Link, a self-defense system, reconnaissance sensors and targeting and a series of weapon systems. The aircraft in this configuration represents a first version with significant multi-role capabilities, with the possibility of subsequent further integrations of operating sensors.
The Aermacchi M-346 is the most advanced training aircraft available on the market today and is the only one in the world designed specifically to train pilots destined for the latest generation of front-line military aircraft. 68 was ordered by the Italian Air Forces (18), Singapore (12), Israel (30) and Poland (8) and was selected by the United Arab Emirates.
