The Italian Ministry of Defence’s certification authority has issued the initial certification for Leonardo’s new M-345 training aircraft.
The test program for the M-345 has conducted two hundred dedicated flights with the support of the Italian Air Force’s Flight Test Centre, 61st Wing and 10th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
Lucio Valerio Cioffi, managing director of Leonardo Aircraft Division said, “The achievement of the Initial Certification for the M-345 confirms that the aircraft features excellent characteristics and capabilities and makes it available for the international market.”
The Initial Certification of the M-345 marks the first case of enforcement of the new AER (EP) P-21 rule for a fixed-wing aircraft. This rule adopts the European EMAR-21 – (European Military Airworthiness Requirements) – a stringent international certification requirement that will also be beneficial to the export of the aircraft.
According to Leonardo the M-345 provides an improvement in training effectiveness, greater efficiency and operating cost reductions. The aircraft complements the M-346s used for the advanced phase of pilot training and, in the framework of the “International Flight Training School” project, will support the reinforcement and internationalisation of the training offer launched by Leonardo in partnership with the Italian Air Force.
The Integrated Training system based on the M-345 for current and future generation aircraft includes the “Live Virtual Constructive” capability, which integrates in-flight aircraft with simulated “friend” or “foe” elements, allowing the future pilot to be exposed to the complexity of every possible operational scenario.
