The M-346 boasts an exceptional curriculum: over 125,000 flight hours, 126 aircraft sold globally and the hub of the International Flight Training School in Decimomannu (Sardinia, Italy), born from the collaboration between Leonardo and the Italian Air Force, for the training of latest-generation fighter pilots.
The article “High technology will make our Frecce dance” illustrates the aircraft’s technologies and potential: with fully digital flight controls and avionics, a fly-by-wire flight control system, with quadruple redundancy and a modern human-machine interface, the M-346 proves to be the most suitable solution for designing the future of the Italian Aerobatic Team (Frecce Tricolori). The aircraft is integrated into a much more complex training system, based on the most modern simulation technologies, which operate a true “synthesis between real and virtual”. This allows pilots to operate simultaneously - and in a combined manner - in LVC mode: Live (real flight), Virtual (the various types of simulators) and Constructive (any type of force/threat generated by the computer).
And the training system itself is ready for the next step. As illustrated in the article “A multi-domain simulator to train pilots”, at the Venegono (Varese) site, a more advanced version of the simulator that allows the various domains to be connected in real time within a “synthetic arena”, is being developed to train pilots to manage operational scenarios that increasingly involve elements - friends or threats - from the different operational domains (Air, Land, Sea, Cyber, Space).
Commenting on the choice of the M-346 for the Italy’s Aerobatic Team (Frecce Tricolori), Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo's Co-General Manager, states: "This announcement is a further confirmation of the solid collaboration between Leonardo and the Italian Air Force in order to respond in the most effective way possible to the evolving operational needs of the Armed Forces. At the same time, it further strengthens the image of the M-346 as a point of reference among advanced training aircraft at an international level."
