Austria is considering the procurement of Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainers to replace the Austrian Air Force’s already-retired fleet of Saab 105 jet trainers.
On 27 August 2024 Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner told the Austria Press Agency that she was considering an “interesting” offer from the Italian Ministry of Defence for a joint procurement of M-346s, the timeframe of which was “not that far off”.
“In the last few years of my term in office, joint procurement co-operation has proven to be an excellent, transparent and friction-free instrument for the procurement of military equipment,” Tanner was quoted as saying.
On 20 December 2021 the Austrian government signed a government-to-government contract with Italy for the purchase of 18 Leonardo AW169s to replace the Bundesheer’s obsolete fleet of Alouette 3 helicopters, while on 22 July 2024 the Dutch Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Brazil’s Embraer for nine C-390 Millennium tanker/transport aircraft, of which four will go to the Austrian Air Force under a joint procurement.
The Austrian Air Force retired its Saab 105s on 31 December 2020 after 50 years of service but did not replace them, meaning that pilots to man its fleet of Eurofighters have had to be trained since then by the Italy-based International Flight Training School (IFTS), which is now located at Decimomannu Air Base in Sardinia. Trainee pilots at the IFTS are trained on M-346s.
It is understood that Austria is looking for around 12 advanced jet trainers to replace its fleet of Saab 105s, 12 of which remained in service when the type was retired.
At the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024 Leonardo launched a comprehensive capability enhancement package for the trainer and fighter variants of the M-346, which will be known as the M-346 T Block 20 and M-346 F Block 20 respectively. This package, which covers the aircraft’s integrated training system, core avionics, navigation/identification systems, mission equipment and ground training capabilities, should keep the aircraft relevant for years to come.
