M-346: A Competitor Global Winner

With heritage and expertise in military pilot training, the Leonardo’s M-346 is the most advanced jet trainer aircraft available on the market today and the only one specifically designed to prepare pilots for new generation high performance aircraft. The M-346 is a competitor global winner. It is in service with the air forces of Italy, Singapore, Israel and Poland that recently announced an order for four additional M-346. The M-346 is the basis of the T-100 Integrated Training System, the solution offered by Leonardo DRS in the T-X competition for the U.S. Air Force’s integrated training system program.

The Leonardo’s M-346 production line is located in Venegono Superiore (Varese) near Milan. The site hosts Leonardo’s Training System Integrated Centre where Leonardo has built over 7,000 aircraft including about 2,000 trainers that have been sold to more than 40 countries. The production process of the M-346 was designed to respond to the requirements of the program in terms of capacity, cost and quality, together with extensive innovative features. 

Leonardo as world leader in the training sector and thanks to its M-345 and M-346 can cover the entire pilot training syllabus. This unique range allows the training syllabus to be tailored to the requirements of pilots assigned to flying with any Air Force. A complete Ground Based Training System (GBTS), perfectly integrated with the platforms and able to ensure both high quality training and strong operating efficiency, complements the aerial platforms. Platforms and systems offer customers worldwide a “turnkey” training solution that can guarantee the highest quality standards at every training stage.

Thanks to interactive courseware, Flight Training Devices, Full Mission Simulators, mission planning and de-briefing systems, which together constitute the Ground Based Training System the Leonardo’s M-346 Integrated Training System guarantees a significant reduction of the cost to qualify an Air Force Cadet as combat ready on a latest generation fighter. 

The flight envelope, high thrust/weight ratio, the ability to develop high angles of attack and extreme maneuverability allow the M-346 to offer flight conditions comparable to those of new-generation combat aircraft. This maximises training effectiveness and reduces the need to fly sorties on the far more expensive and complex variants of frontline types.

Its Embedded Tactical Training Simulation (ETTS) allows the M-346 to emulate sensors, countermeasures and armaments, as well as allowing pilots to interact in real time with a virtual tactical scenario, further enhancing flexibility and cost reduction. Thanks to its Helmet Mounted Display, vocal control inputs and in-flight refueling probe, the M-346 can carry out a complete tactical training syllabus. 

The M-346 is designed for efficient maintenance approach resulting in the best mission availability and lowest operability/maintenance cost of its category.