After obtaining the initial certification of the Aircraft Armaments and Airworthiness Department, certification body of the Italian Ministry of Defense, "the M-345 training aircraft is ready for the world market". Leonardo announced it explaining that he will be "in service with the Air Force shortly". It is the "future plane of the Frecce Tricolori".
"The recognition of the initial certification of the M-345 - comments the Head of the Aircraft Division of Leonardo , Lucio Valerio Cioffi - confirms the characteristics and capabilities of this aircraft, unique in its kind for performance, acquisition and management costs, projecting this aircraft fully on the international market ". It is a "result achieved", he says, thanks to the synergies with the DAAA and the Air Force in a "Country System perspective that fits fully in the wake of the excellence in training recognized internationally by the Italian Armed Forces".
The initial certification of the M-345, explains the company, "is the result of a program that included around 200 flight tests and an intense ground activity also thanks to the collaboration of the Air Force and aimed at verifying the compliance of the aircraft and its components with rigorous performance and safety standards ". The M-345 trainer "best meets the training needs of military pilots - highlights Leonardo - with performance and efficiency typical of jet planes and costs comparable to those of turboprop aircraft".
