Aermacchi Rolls Out Post-Prototype M-346By tom kington
Published: 10 Apr 18:55 EDT (14:55 GMT)
ROME - Alenia Aermacchi rolled out what it termed the "baseline industrial configuration" of its M-346 jet trainer on April 9.
The aircraft follows in the footsteps of two prototypes and boasts structural and maintenance improvements, said the company, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica group.
"The goal has been achieved by rationalizing the distribution of wing spars and fuselage frames, together with a more widespread use of composite and titanium parts," the company said in a statement. "Together with the integration of the new main landing gear and the standardization of general mission systems, this has brought about a considerable reduction in the empty weight, in the order of about 700 kilos.
"The flight control system, which includes the computers provided by Alenia SIA and Selex Communications, have also been enhanced with software control laws developed in-house by Alenia Aermacchi," the statement added.
The improvements had been made after flight testing with the prototypes and input from air forces that have evaluated the aircraft, Aermacchi said.
Aermacchi CEO Carmelo Cosentino has previously said that the new aircraft, while in series configuration, would be retained for use in work on future variants of the M-346 and would not be among those delivered to the aircraft's launch customer, the Italian Air Force.
In January, the second M-346 prototype carried out in-flight refueling tests with an Italian Air Force Tornado.
In March, Alenia Aermacchi signed a memorandum of understanding with Chilean company ENAER for potential collaboration on the M-346 and the Aermacchi M-311 trainer. The deal covers joint manufacturing and selling of the aircraft in Latin America.
source
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3474113&c=AIR&s=EUR
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