ROME \u2014 The Italian Air Force has formally entered into service a new basic jet trainer, the Leonardo M-345, which will operate alongside the firm\u2019s better known M-346 advanced trainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The M-345 entered service on Thursday at a ceremony at the Air Force\u2019s 61st Wing at Galatina air base in southern Italy, where it will replace the long serving MB-339.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force said 18 aircraft have been ordered to date, with seven delivered and four involved in operational test and evaluation activities which wrapped up in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four instructors are now trained, the Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The jet encompasses phases 2 and 3 of flight training before pilots shift to flying the M-346 in phase 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the M-345 now integrated into the armed force\u2019s training syllabus which already features the M-346 for the more advanced phases of training, the Italian Air Force will boast the most modern fixed-wing military training system in Europe,\u201d said Stefano Bortoli, Leonardo Aeronautics Division Managing Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Powered by a Williams FJ44-4M-34 turbofan engine, the M-345 can reach a speed of 787 kilometers per hour at 20,000 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonardo claims the jet offers a superior performance to a high end turbo-prop at the same operating cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aircraft features three color touch-screen Multi-Function Displays (MFDs) and a Head-Up Display (HUD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonardo also claims the aircraft is \u201ccapable of light operational roles\u201d, with a payload capacity of over 1,000 kg across four underwing pylons and compatible with infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, 500 pound bombs, rocket pods and cannons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That suggests Leonardo will market the aircraft for fighter duties as well as trainer tasks, just as it has successfully sold a light fighter version of the M-346.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arrival in service of the M-345 has been a long time coming. Italy completed its order for 18 aircraft in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The type was original due to replace the MB339 as the aircraft used by the Italian Air Force\u2019s acrobatic flying team, but that job has now been given to the M-346.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Air Force said 18 aircraft have been ordered to date, with seven delivered and four involved in operational test and evaluation activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119822,"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":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,29,46,11,36,94],"tags":[8616],"coauthors":[3345],"class_list":["post-70592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","category-paris-air-show","tag-italy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CU4U4EV7YJB43M3N2ZGFAQA56I","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2025\/06\/13\/italian-air-force-accepts-leonardos-m-345-as-basic-trainer-jet\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n