The M-346 by Alenia Aermacchi: not only an Advanced and Lead-in Fighter Training
Turkey represents for Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi a strategic Country, not intended merely as a relevant export market, but rather as a potential first-level industrial partner.
Our presence in Turkey has been based for a long time on an accurate and deep understanding of the Turkish industrial base, its significant skills, competencies and growing ambitious capabilities.
Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi is daily focused on supporting, through technology transfer agreements, the willingness of the Country to strongly develop a strategic aeronautical sector.
The Turkish aeronautics sector offers strong prospects for Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi, which is currently promoting its industrial and technological capabilities in integrated training systems, special versions aircraft (for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare roles) and tactical transport aircraft.
In the field of Integrated Training Systems Alenia Aermacchi has developed an advanced system to accompany student pilots from flight school entry up to lead-in fighter training, guaranteeing a highly effective training course, while allowing air forces to achieve significant cost reductions.
Alenia Aermacchi is currently the only company in the world to offer a total training system. Thanks to its range of trainer aircraft, Alenia Aermacchi covers the complete pilot training syllabus, from the screening and primary phase to the basic phase (on the new low-cost, yet effective, single-turbofan M-345 HET) up to the advanced and LIFT (Lead-In Fighter Training) phase on the market leading twin-engine M-346. All this is further supported by a complete Ground Based Training System (GBTS) which includes specific simulators and computer-based didactic devices for each aircraft.
Alenia Aermacchi offers to its customers a complete ITS, Integrated Training System, supplying all the elements required to build up a comprehensive flight academy, from the TNA (Training Needs Analysis) to the ground infrastructure design (classrooms, simulators, storage rooms, flight line devices, service hangars, etc.), through the supply of an advanced Training Management Information System (TMIS), essentially an IT system working as the school “Director”.
Alenia Aermacchi’s system guarantees the best cost-effectiveness ratio also for the advanced training (Phase 3) and Lead-In Fighter Training (LIFT), which are indeed the most expensive yet also the most important phases of the whole training course.
Furthermore the flexible platform of the M-346 is configurable also for the operational roles with basic Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Air capacity, thanks to the seven hardpoints allowing different types of external stores (e.g. guided/unguided weapons, pods, missiles, etc.) to be carried.
The M-346 is characterized also by provisions for the full integration of Helmet Mounted Display, Electronic Warfare System, with Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) and a Chaff & Flare (C&F) dispensing sub-system that provide the M-346 aircraft with self-protection functions and tactical data link.
The speed of the M-346, its ability to climb quickly and the extreme manoeuvrability make it a highly survivable aircraft. The low maintenance man-hours per flight-hour and efficiencies, offered by a trainer-based aircraft design, also make it a very cost-effective option.
In this configuration the aircraft can perform on various roles: ground attack, anti-ship and aerial target engagements, in particular the so-called “homeland defence” role.
Even in maximum loaded condition, the M-346 still maintains a high thrust/weight ratio – not far from values of frontline multirole fighter similarly fully armed – and a moderate wing loading, both contributing to excellent overall performance and manoeuvrability.
