ROME \u2014\u00a0The M-345 HET, the latest jet trainer to be developed by Italy’s\u00a0Leonardo-Finmeccanica, will be acquired by the Italian Air Force this\u00a0year once the Italian government releases initial development funding, a senior defense source has told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new aircraft, which will prepare pilots to move up to the firm’s\u00a0advanced M-346 trainer, is edging towards first flights this year and\u00a0may enter service by the end of 2018, company officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years after the company announced it would develop the M-345 to replace its\u00a0MB-339 trainer, Leonardo-Finmeccanica will be showing off the cockpit of\u00a0the new aircraft at Farnborough, with officials calling the aircraft\u00a0“unbeatable” for life cycle cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The M-345 basic-advanced trainer is based on the firm’s planned, but\u00a0never-produced, M-311 trainer, albeit with new engines, avionics and some\u00a0structural aerodynamic changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The M-311 was in turn a development of the S-211, which was sold to the\u00a0Philippines, Singapore and Haiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The M-345 prototype now being readied is based on the M-311. It will\u00a0have the M-345’s selected engine \u2014 the Williams FJ44-4M-34 \u2014 installed,\u00a0and fly this year, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That will be followed by the flight by end 2017 of a pre-series aircraft\u00a0which will feature the cockpit, complete with three multi-function\u00a0screens and a Head Up Display for the pilot as well as three\u00a0multi-function screens and a repeater of the HUD for the back seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-screen cockpit is similar to the M-346, even if\u00a0Leonardo-Finmeccanica has decided that the version of the M-346 it will\u00a0offer to the US in the TX bid will have just one large screen, in\u00a0keeping with the F-35 configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We will keep a ‘classic’ cockpit with three multi-function screens on\u00a0the M-345 because as a Phase II and III trainer, students could be\u00a0selected to fly helicopters or multi-engine transports,” said an\u00a0official. “Furthermore, most of the 4th\/5th-generation fighters today,\u00a0and at least up to 2030, still feature a 3-MFD cockpit configuration.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The flight schedule, followed by deliveries in 2018, marks a slippage\u00a0from earlier announcements of pre-series flights in 2016 and deliveries\u00a0in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What could help accelerate the program is the \u20ac9 million in\u00a0development funding that appeared in this year’s Italian defense budget,\u00a0the first money slated for the M-345 program. “A contract is likely\u00a0to be signed this year,” a senior defense source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Williams engine is seen by Leonardo-Finmeccanica as a key selling\u00a0point for the new aircraft, offering 3,400 lbs of thrust, ten percent\u00a0more than the M-311.
The M-345 HET, the latest jet trainer to be developed by Italy\u2019s\u00a0Leonardo-Finmeccanica, will be acquired by the Italian Air Force this\u00a0year once the Italian government releases initial development funding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":87,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,87,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3345],"class_list":["post-36819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-show-dailies","category-farnborough","category-home"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WP6BUFCG55AP3PKJEN3B4RQSDE","arc_canonical_url":"\/digital-show-dailies\/farnborough\/2016\/07\/04\/italy-s-m-345-fighter-trainer-slated-for-contract-this-year\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n