Brazil evaluates Leonardo’s M-346 aircraft as an option to complement its Gripen fleet

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The commander of the Brazilian Air Force, Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, in response to an invitation from the Italian company Leonardo, flew the M-346 Master aircraft of the 61st Stormo at the Lecce Air Base, Italy.

This model considered the most modern Lead In Flight Training (LIFT) in the market, is a potential candidate to fill the void of this type of aircraft currently in the FAB, replacing the old F-5 and remaining AMX complementing the future fleet of Saab F-39E/F Gripen fighters.

This flight of the M-346 Master at the Italian Air Force Fighter School with the Commander of the Brazilian Air Force comes days after learning that Colombia has selected the Korean KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle as the Colombian Air Force’s new LIFT aircraft.

LEONARDO’S OFFER

According to Infodefensa.com, the Italian offer for the M-346 Master to Brazil includes, within the recently renewed military cooperation agreement between both countries, the possibility that the Brazilian industry, represented by the Defense and Security Industrial Base (BID), supplies important technological elements for the aircraft to be ordered, such as the Wide Area Display, developed in Brazil by AEL Sistemas, a subsidiary of Elbit, already adopted for the Brazilian and Swedish Gripen Echo.

The M-346 Master has a high degree of commonality with the Gripen in the Head-Up Display (HUD) systems and radios supplied by Israel’s Elbit Systems and can be easily integrated with AEL Sistemas’ LinkBr2. The helmets with integrated sights are also versions of the Israeli Targo II from the same company.

AEL and Embraer would be Leonardo’s strategic partners in Brazil for what is known behind the scenes as the M-346 Program. In the FA (Fighter Attack) configuration, the most sophisticated, the M-346, will perform all advanced training missions, including BVR and other air combat tactics, interdiction, and ground attack.

The aircraft will be delivered ready to launch Iris-T missiles, adopted by the Brazilian Air Force, and Lizard laser-guided bombs, already used by the F-5EM/FM and A-1M AMX.

This multi-role variant is capable of air-to-air and air-to-surface combat with a two-ton payload installed on seven hardpoints, uses the advanced Grifo-346 radar, has countermeasures and radar coverage absorbing coatings, and uses a new extended wing.

The differential of the M-346FA model is its ability to perform operational missions at a lower cost than front-line fighters and train pilots in all possible front-line fighter missions without needing to convert them into operational biplanes exclusively for training freeing up this important fleet for other activities.

THE FUTURE IS ALREADY A REALITY

The fourth and fifth-generation aircraft are complex systems platforms and are expensive to acquire and operate. They must be available on the flight line, ready to be employed in their core business, which is combat.

In modern warfare, an Air Force will not always have a second chance to accomplish its mission. Its combat assets must be available on the flight line, and pilots must be prepared to operate and manage the systems in their entirety and how they will be employed in theater. And this has become a challenge.

The M-346 Master project was born to reflect the requirements of 5th generation aircraft in terms of high-performance features, flight quality, sensors, avionics, and integrated simulation capabilities, all at a fraction of the acquisition, operation, and life cycle costs of today’s modern fighter aircraft.

Acquired by the Italian, Israeli, Polish, Singaporean, and United Arab Emirates air forces, the M-346 carries in its DNA the tradition and experience of the Italian aeronautical industry, which has developed and produced more than seven thousand military aircraft, including two thousand trainers exported to more than 40 countries.

BRAZIL IN ITALY

Fulfilling an agenda that honors the Brazilian military who fought on Italian soil during World War II, the commanders of the three sea, land, and air forces visited cities and towns where the Pracinhas (little soldiers) of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) fought, many of whom died during combat.

The main ceremony, held at the Votivo Militar monument, a former Brazilian military cemetery in Pistoia, Italy, commemorated the 77th anniversary of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) Campaign and was attended by the Brazilian Ambassador to Italy, Hélio Ramos Júnior, and the commander of the Brazilian Navy, Fleet Admiral Almir Garnier Santos; of the Brazilian Army, General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes; and of the Brazilian Air Force, Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, as well as Brazilian and Italian military and civilian authorities.

With information from InfoDefensa