PARIS — Italian Air Force Eurofighter pilots will fly training exercises alongside an M-346 jet trainer, which will take on the role of an "aggressor" aircraft, an Italian industrial source has said.
The use of the M-346 in air combat training at Italy's Eurofighter base at Grosseto in central Italy is designed to save money which would have otherwise been spent on flying a more expensive Eurofighter in its place, the source said on the eve of the Paris Air Show.
The trainer aircraft, known as the T-346A by the Italian Air Force, has beenis temporarily deployed to the Eurofighter Operational Conversion Unit of the 4th Wing at Grosseto from the Air Force's 61st Wing, to test its suitability in the role.
The T-346 can mimic various aircraft to create so-called Dissimilar Air Combat Training, while its data link allows it to enact simulated training, meaning the trainer pilot will be aware when a Eurofighter's radar has locked onto it or when the T-346's simulated radar has locked onto the Eurofighter.
The source said the move would free up fighters for operations that might otherwise be tied up in training. Another possible use of the trainer was in "companion" training, where pilots could keep up combat readiness by using the T-346 instead of their main fighter.
"If you have 35-50 Jjoint Sstrike Ffighters, 90 percent of those available will be used in training, while a solution covering aggressor and companion training would get that down to 50 percent," said the source.
Meanwhile, after the delivery of four T-346s to Italy's training school at Lecce, and after the training up of instructors, the first Air Force students are due to fly the aircraft in August.
Manufacturer Alenia Aermacchi, a unit of Finmeccanica, has meanwhile delivered 12 aircraft to Israel, 12 to Singapore and has started production on aircraft ordered by Poland.
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
