Less than two years after the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MOD) inked a contract with Alenia Aermacchi for 30 M-346 advanced trainer aircraft for the Israeli Air Force (IAF), the first of the trainers were rolled out. In a ceremony at Alenia Aermacchi’s factory in Venegono Superiore, Italy, on March 20, the M-346 was unveiled to a group of officials from the Israeli MOD, the IAF, and officials from Alenia Aermacchi and other key industry partners.

The M-346 is slated to replace the TA-4 Skyhawk currently used by the IAF for advanced training.

The M-346 is slated to replace the TA-4 Skyhawk currently used by the IAF for advanced training. The delivery of the first M-346 to the IAF is scheduled for the summer of 2014. The delivery will be accompanied by ground based training systems.

Besides Israel, the M-346 has also been ordered by Poland. Poland will become the fourth operator of the aircraft, after Italy, Singapore, and Israel. Italy and Singapore already operate the aircraft. In total, 56 M-346 advanced trainers have been ordered by the four countries.