Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master - Operational History

Operational History

The Italian Air Force intends to acquire a first batch of 15 low rate production M-346 aircraft. On 18 June 2009, Alenia Aermacchi announced they had received an order for the first six with an option for nine more.

The M-346 was named the winner of a competition by the United Arab Emirates at the IDEX 2009 defense show in Abu Dhabi on 25 February 2009. The official said the order involved delivery of 48 aircraft to be used for pilot training and light attack duties. A final request for proposals in 2010 had set the requirement at 20 trainers, 20 aircraft for combat duties, and the remainder would go toward the creation of a formation flying team. However on 27 January 2010, negotiations to sign a contract have reportedly stalled over specifications.

In July 2010, the M-346 was selected by Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to replace the ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawks in the Advanced Jet Training (AJT) role, currently based at BA 120 Cazaux Air Base in France. And in a press release by the Singaporean Ministry of Defence on 28 September 2010, ST Aerospace had been awarded the contract to acquire twelve M-346 and a ground based training system on behalf of RSAF. As stipulated in the contract, ST Aerospace will act as the main contractor to maintain the aircraft after delivery by Alenia Aermacchi while Boeing would supply the training system. Delivery date is scheduled from 2012 onwards.

On 18 November 2011 the prototype, which had been on display at the Dubai Air Show crashed after departing Dubai on return to Italy.

On 16 February 2012, the M-346 was selected by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) as its main training jet to replace the McDonnell Douglas A-4H/N Skyhawks, which has served the IAF for over 40 years. On 19 July 2012, a contract was signed between Alenia Aermacchi and the Israeli Ministry of Defence to supply 30 M-346 advanced jet trainers, with the first delivery expected in the middle of 2014.

In the United States, Alenia Aermacchi plans on bidding the M-346 Master for the United States Air Force's T-X program to replace the ageing Northrop T-38 Talon. The company had initially considered submitting the aircraft as the prime contractor, but changed its mind in 2010. It is now searching for a U.S. partner to bid with. The company also rebranded the aircraft as the T-100 Integrated Training System for the competition. Alenia anticipates moving the final assembly location from Italy to the United States if it wins the competition. About 350 aircraft are expected to be ordered to replace the T-38, but further purchases could push the overall purchase to over 1,000.