The new aircraft that will replace the MB.339PAN, currently used by the Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori, was unveiled today. The presentation coincided with the homecoming ceremony of the Italian Aerobatic Team following their North American tour. The aircraft, designed and manufactured in Italy by Leonardo SpA, is already in service with the Italian Air Force for advanced pilot training, preparing pilots for 4th and 5th generation fighter jets. Known as the M-346, this new aircraft will enable the Frecce Tricolori to continue representing Italy worldwide. A new livery was also revealed, designed by Pininfarina, which embraces the theme of the “renaissance of the tricolor.” This design emphasizes the beauty and fluidity of the Frecce Tricolori’s flight, celebrating teamwork, dedication, ingenuity, and national pride. The result is a harmonious design, visible in three dimensions, ensuring that during the aircraft’s maneuvers, a recognizable graphic element always conveys a sense of speed and dynamism to the audience. It is a perfect blend of elegance and power, traits characteristic of both Pininfarina and the National Aerobatic Team, representing industriousness, creativity, and teamwork—core values of the Italian Air Force.
The Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows), officially known as the 313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori (“313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frecce Tricolori”), is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force. Based at Rivolto Air Base in the province of Udine, it was established on March 1, 1961, as a permanent group for training Air Force pilots in aerial acrobatics. The Tricolor Arrows replaced unofficial teams that had been sponsored by various commands since the early 1930s. The team flies the Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN, a two-seat fighter-trainer aircraft capable of speeds up to 898 km/h at sea level. With ten aircraft, nine in close formation and a solo performer, they are the world’s largest aerobatic patrol, and their flight program, consisting of around twenty maneuvers over approximately thirty minutes, makes them one of the most famous aerobatic teams globally. The Frecce Tricolori is a national symbol of Italy. On August 28, 1988, the Frecce Tricolori were involved in the Ramstein air show disaster, one of the worst air show accidents in history, which resulted in the deaths of 67 spectators and three pilots, and serious injuries to 346 spectators. The team performs three different programs—high, low, and flat—depending on weather conditions and the characteristics of the exhibition area.
The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. Initially co-developed with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130, the partnership dissolved in 2000, after which Alenia Aermacchi independently developed the M-346 Master, while Yakovlev continued work on the Yak-130. The M-346 first flew in 2004 and is currently operated by the air forces of Italy, Israel, Singapore, Greece, Turkmenistan, and Poland. Since 2016, the manufacturer has been Leonardo-Finmeccanica, following the merger of Alenia Aermacchi into the new Finmeccanica, which was rebranded as Leonardo in 2017. The M-346 is primarily designed as a lead-in fighter trainer, using its performance and capabilities to train pilots for the latest generation of combat fighter aircraft. Powered by two Honeywell F124 turbofan dry engines, it can achieve transonic speeds without an afterburner, and its flight performance is said to be “second only to afterburner-equipped aircraft.” The aircraft was designed with “design-to-cost” and “design-to-maintain” concepts to minimize acquisition and operating costs, reportedly costing only one-tenth per flying hour compared to the Eurofighter Typhoon. Beyond training, the M-346 was also designed to accommodate additional operational capabilities, including combat roles such as close air support and air policing.
In 2007, the Italian Air Force initially planned to acquire a batch of 15 low-rate production M-346s. On June 18, 2009, Alenia Aermacchi announced they had received an order for the first six aircraft, with an option for nine more. On 20 June 2011, a Military Type Certification was granted to Alenia Aermacchi for the M-346 Master by the General Directorate for Aeronautical Armaments of the Italian Ministry of Defence in Rome. Throughout the certification process, the M-346 development aircraft made 180 test flights, totalling 200 flights across the course of the previous five months, during which over 3,300 test points were completed. In September 2015, the Italian Air Force began its first training course using the M-346. In March 2016, Finmeccanica signed a contract worth over 300 million euros with the Italian Ministry of Defence for nine more M-346s, bringing Italy’s total order to 18. In February 2018, the Italian Air Force received its 18th M-346, concluding their acquisition program. In 2019, four additional M-346s were delivered to the newly established Italian Air Force/Leonardo International Flight Training School (IFTS) at Galatina Air Base.
