The M-346 Master is one of the most important candidates to train future jet pilots.
Besides, it has a high potential to play a crucial role in many combats of tomorrow.
Ten airforces have already chosen the aircraft, and its future seems even more bright.
As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating the M-346, the fruit of the Italian mastery
for jet trainer / light attack aircraft.
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The M-346 Master is the latest example of Italy's long-standing jet trainer/light attack
aircraft tradition.
In the last ten years, it has competed against very potent rivals.
Except for the US Air Force T-X programme, the M-346 managed to beat them.
What are the factors behind this success?
To better understand the answer, let's look at the historical background and features
of the aircraft first.
Italy was one of the pioneers of the works on jet aircraft.
The Caproni Campini N.1 made its maiden flight on August 27, 1940.
But, these efforts could not continue because of the conditions of the Second World War.
After the Second World War, Italy quickly became a part of the new Western World and
began the development of new jet fighters again in the early 1950s.
In a little while, the Italian aviation companies realized that competing with powerful rivals
from the other western countries was not wise.
On the other hand, focusing on the simple light attack and trainer aircraft would be
more profitable.
The Italian aviation companies have achieved great success in the international market
with many aircraft, such as the G.91, MB-326, and MB-339.
In the 1980s, all major Western countries were working on a new generation of fighters.
So, Italy quickly realized that a new generation trainer would be required soon.
Just then, the USSR was collapsed, and new opportunities arose.
The new Russian Federation had skilful aeronautical engineers but no money.
Also, this country was far behind the modern avionic technologies.
Moscow was highly, even desperately, open to establishing partnerships with the West.
The Russian Yakovlev company had been working on a new jet trainer since 1991.
This aircraft would compete with the MiG-AT for the Russian Air Force's requirement.
But, the Yakovlev was experiencing some financial difficulties.
The Italian company Aermacchi, today Leonardo, saw the opportunity and offered a partnership.
They signed a cooperation agreement in 1992.
The resulting aircraft called Yak/AEM-130 made its maiden flight in 1996.
But, the Russian financial support was less than satisfactory.
Also, the operational requirements of the Russian Air Force were different from than
the western countries.
So, this not-so-happy marriage ended in 2000.
The M-346 was one child of the Italian-Russian Yak/AEM-130 joint programme.
The other was the Yak-130, whose NATO reporting is Mitten.
We should add that a natural child, called L-15, would be born later.
After the divorce, the development of the M-346 experienced some setbacks.
First of all, Aermacchi had to reconfigure the aircraft according to the requirements
of the Advance European Pilot Training programme, which is also called by its unofficial name,
Eurotraining.
Besides, the usage of advanced composite materials and titanium on the airframe would be increased.
These two factors caused constant changes in the maximum take-off weight of the M-346.
Yet, determining the maximum take-off weight was one of the base criteria to design an
aircraft.
Still, this problem was not crucial to nail the programme's fate, causing only delays.
Basically, the M-346 was a highly modified version of the Yak/AEM-130.
Also, it had the Honeywell F124 turbofan engines instead of the Lotarev DV-2Ss.
The aircraft's mockup was unveiled at Paris Airshow 2001.
The first M-346 prototype fitted with the same landing gears as the AMX to reduce the
costs made its maiden flight on July 15, 2004.
Four years later, the first Low Rate Initial Production aircraft, produced in the final
configuration, was rolled out.
It had new landing gear and an air brake.
The Aermacchi engineers increased the proportion of composite materials and titanium.
They also optimized the wing spars and fuselage.
With these changes, the empty weight was reduced by 700 kilograms.
Also, based on the aerodynamic design, the fuel tank had moved 80 centimetres forward.
Besides, during the design process, the engineers specifically worked on reducing unit and operational
costs.
The M-346 was introduced to the Italian Air Force's service in 2015.
The M-346 has an aluminium alloy centre fuselage.
The cockpit section and rear fuselage of the M-346 are made of reinforced carbon fibre.
Kevlar is used in the tail cone, fin root and fin fillet.
The fin tip, nosecone, flaps and air brakes are made of composite material.
The M-346 has the powerplant with dual-channel FADEC and a full-authority quadruplex digital
fly-by-wire flight control system, incorporating a HOTAS design philosophy.
The M-346 can perform manoeuvres of +8 / -3 g, and its maximum angle of attack is over
30 degrees.
So, the aircraft is highly suitable for air combat training simulated the modern jet fighters.
If demanded, The M-346 can be equipped with a pilot activated recovery system, which conducts
an automatic recovery by returning the aircraft to a steady and level flight path when activated.
The M-346's glass cockpit with three colour LCD multifunctional displays is compatible
with night vision goggles.
There is a head-up display in both the front and rear cockpit.
The helmet-mounted display is optional.
The M-346’s Embedded Tactical Training System, shortly ETTS, offers the advanced mission
management suite.
With the modern human-machine interface, this suite can generate a tactical scenario with
threat and targets, computer-generated friendly and foe forces, onboard sensors and weapons.
So, the M-346 can realistically represent the last generation jet fighters, such as
the Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen, and F-35.
Also, the aircraft performance levels, flight characteristics, onboard systems and five
hardpoints offer significant capabilities as a companion trainer, Red Air and, when
armed, for operational “Air policing” roles.
The M-346 has air refuelling capability.
Leonardo company states that per flying hour costs of the aircraft are one-tenth of those
of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The M-346 made its first supersonic flight on December 18, 2008.
It exceeded the speed of sound, reaching Mach 1.15 during the dive.
But, the aircraft cannot break through the sound barrier during the cruise flight.
The M-346FT is the multi-role variant of the aircraft.
It is capable of switching between training and combat operations.
The M-346FT has a new tactical datalink system and different armament capabilities.
But, there are no changes to the hardware.
The armed variant, which is still under development, is the M-346FA.
The first pre-series aircraft of this version made its first flight in July 2020.
It has the Grifo M-346 multi-mode fire-control radar and a total of seven hardpoints.
The FA variant can carry 3,000-kilogram external loads.
By installing a low-observability kit, Leonardo claims that the radar cross-section of the
aircraft is reduced by one-twentieth compared to the standard training model.
The M-346FA can be fitted with a radar warning receiver, missile approach warning system
and chaff and flares dispensers.
The T-100 was the variant offered to the US Air Force's T-X programme.
But, the T-7 Red Hawk has won the tender.
The M-346's nickname is not Master in Israel and Poland but Lavi, Bielik respectively.
Azerbaijan, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Qatar, Singapore, and Turkmenistan
are the current users of the M-346.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's aircraft are based at Cazaux Air Base in France.
When the partnership of the Yak/AEM-130 programme ended, Italy accepted to leave the Commonwealth
of Independent States to Russia as a marketing zone.
But interestingly, two countries of this regional intergovernmental organization have preferred
the M-346 over the Yak-130.
The M-346 has a length of is 11.49 meters, a wingspan of 9.72 metres, a height of 4.79
meters.
The wing area of the aircraft is 23.52 square meters.
Its empty weight is 4,900 kilograms, and the maximum take-off weight is 9,600 kilograms.
The aircraft has two 28 kilonewton Honeywell/ITEC F124-GA-200 turbofan engines.
Its top cruising speed is 1,090 kilometres per hour.
The aircraft has 2,550 kilometres ferry range.
The service ceiling of the M-346 is 13,716 meters, in other words, 45,000 feet.
The M-346FA has a wingspan of 10.14 metres and a maximum take-off weight of 10,500 kilograms.
Let's begin to analyse the factors behind the M-346's success.
Today, the air forces of the world are transforming.
The jet trainers designed in the 1960s are no longer keeping up this transformation.
The many primary actors in this area have not developed a new aircraft to answer this
requirement.
Germany, France, and the UK, which created the Alphajet and Hawk, which once competed
fiercely with the MB-236 and MB-339, are not offering a new jet trainer.
The only Western-standard rival of the M-346 is the South Korean T-50.
The T-7 Red Hawk is still in development.
Also, these two aircraft are not actual competitors of the M-346.
They are heirs of the supersonic T-38.
If we look at their recent market successes, we can easily see that T-50 and T-7 have generally
won the tenders to replace the Talon.
The M-346 is the only Western alternative for the modern subsonic jet trainer in the
market.
Also, the fact that it has no other rivals in the field is not the only factor in the
success of this aircraft.
Italy has a well-earned reputation in the jet trainer market.
During the last 60 years, nearly 20 countries over five continents preferred the MB-236s
and MB-339s.
These aircraft have not trained the pilots but also fought successfully.
Naturally, their successes have become an excellent reference for the M-346.
The light attack aircraft are more practical than the state-of-art new generation fighter
jet for low-intensity conflicts.
They are cheap to be acquired and operated.
The low-intensity conflicts do not require stealth, heavy weapon, or supercruise capabilities.
Today, the world needs an aircraft, which can train the pilots of the highly capable
fighter jets, and also fight against asymmetric threats at low costs.
The M-346 is one of the best for this requirement.
Also, in a full-scale war, the armed forces still need a light attack and close air support
aircraft.
The M-346 is one of the aircraft that offer the most cost-effective solution for training
and fighting today.
Its high combat capability with low price makes the M-346 a good solution for newly
emerged requirements.
For example, Ireland, which has no fighters, is under the shadow of the Russian bombers'
threat.
Dublin is considering acquiring the M-346, which has air-to-air combat capability, as
a low-cost solution.
It is not an absurd idea.
In the 1980s, the Royal Air Force used the Hawks carrying the Sidewinders to support
the Tornadoes in interception roles.
Currently, alongside the T-50, the M-346 Master is the best option for the training of Western
jet pilots.
It is also one of the most capable jet light attack aircraft.
So, the M-346's success in the international market is not a surprise.
Soon, it will also begin to compete with other new jet trainers, which are currently in development.
But, the M-346 will remain as one of the most powerful competitors in the market.
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