The first M-346 advanced trainer for the Israeli Air & Space Force was rolled out today in a ceremony held at Alenia Aermacchi’s plant in Venegono Superiore, Italy.

In July 2012, Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, was awarded a contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD) to supply 30 M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft, to replace the TA-4 Skyhawk currently operated by the IAF, to include ground based training systems in collaboration with other Israeli and International companies.

The delivery of the first M-346 to the Israel Air & Space Force is scheduled for summer 2014.

The roll-out ceremony was attended by officials from the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israeli Air & Space Force, Italian institutional key representatives, as well as representatives from Alenia Aermacchi and other industrial partners.

This moment is particularly important to Alenia Aermacchi which, in less than two years, has signed the contract and performed the roll-out of the first aircraft for Israel: a result, which marks the excellent team job achieved in strict collaboration with Alenia Aermacchi’s industrial counterparts, TOR and Honeywell.

The M-346 has also been recently ordered by Poland that becomes the fourth customer of the aircraft after Italy, Singapore and Israel. A total of 56 M-346 have been ordered so far. The aircraft is  already in service with the Italian and the Republic of Singapore Air Forces.

Alenia Aermacchi press release