Alenia Aeronautica Unveils First Pre-series M-346 Trainer

Released on Thursday, April 10, 2008

Seven hundred kilos of weight saved on airframe, systems and test equipment. This is key feature of the baseline industrial configuration of the M-346 advanced trainer unveiled yesterday at Venegono Superiore in a simple ceremony attended by the Chief of the Italian Defense Staff, General Vincenzo Camporini, and by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, General Giuseppe Bernardis. All around them were the engineers, technicians and staff that � as underlined by CEO Carmelo Cosentino � are contributing to the success of the only advanced trainer flying today in Europe.

The industrial configuration is based on flight test data gathered by the first two M-346 in over three years of flying, in Italy and abroad, with pilots ranging from company test pilots to ITAF test pilots to those of the many international air forces that have already flown the type. The pre-series M-346 differs from the prototypes in the airframe, which has been simplified and optimised and now sports many composite and titanium parts, with both structural and maintenance benefits. An all-new landing gear replaces the "off the shelf" units fitted to the prototypes. The invisible differences include a more powerful Flight Control System, with computers designed by Alenia SIA and SELEX Communications and enhanced software designed in-house by Alenia Aermacchi.

The unveiling was attended by many top-level Finmeccanica and Alenia Aeronautica executives, including Ing. Remo Pertica, Ing. Filippo Bagnato and Ing. Giovanni Bertolone.