Article Posted on : - Jul 24, 2014

M-346 aircraft. Photo: Alenia Aermacchi.

ROME (BNS): The first two advanced trainer M-346 produced for the Israeli Air Force (IAF) have been delivered to the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base, which will gradually replace the TA-4s currently operated by the IAF.

Alenia Aermacchi was awarded a contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD) to supply 30 M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft and to include ground based training systems in collaboration with other Israeli and International companies, according to a news release by the company.

The M-346 is the most advanced/lead-in fighter trainer aircraft and the only new-generation trainer optimised for the role of training pilots who fly on latest-generation high-performance military planes.

Alenia Aermacchi's M-346 Integrated Training System (ITS) includes, together with the aircraft, an exhaustive Ground Based Training System (GBTS), enabling the student pilot to learn and rehearse the entire aircraft syllabus and all training objectives on the ground, before replicating them in flight.