The arena of the next-generation training military aircraft is
filling up with competitors. Finmeccanica's boss Roberto Testore
stakes his claim for the Aermacchi M-346.
"The M-346, which was rolled out a few days ago on June 7,
is the most sophisticated advanced jet trainer in development
today," he says. "The (EADS) Mako project is still not
definite. The (KAI/Lockheed Martin) T-50 aircraft was created
for a different purpose, while the (BAE Systems) Advanced Hawk
is a low-risk project based on a 30-year old aircraft. Apart from
being the only next-generation advanced trainer designed specifically
for this purpose, the M-346 meets Eurotrainer requirements perfectly,
as well as those of certain air forces that have chosen to remain
outside the European program, such as the British RAF. We believe
the M-346 is capable of capturing a healthy share of the advanced
trainer market in the near future"
Asked whether Finmeccanica's already close links with Lockheed
Martin on other projects will be a help or a hindrance in the
trainer wars, Testore says, "As for co-operation with Lockheed,
we do not foresee any major problems on the sales front, although
the operational requirements of particular air forces could make
it difficult to market these aircraft side by side. No air force
currently has both a high-performance advanced jet trainer and
a supersonic lead-in fighter trainer. South Korea will be the
first when the T-50 comes into service."
