Alenia North America is actively looking for a US manufacturer to support or potentially lead its forthcoming campaign to sell the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced trainer to the US Air Force.
Boeing earlier this year forged a partnership with Alenia Aermacchi to help the Italian manufacturer with marketing the M-346 and M-311 basic trainer outside the USA. Alenia North America president Giuseppe Giordo says this partnership could be extended to include the US market, but that the company is also talking to other large US manufacturers.
"We're receiving a lot of interest from US companies," Giordo says. "We haven't decided who is the best partner."
The M-346 is expected to compete against the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50 and possibly an upgraded version of the Boeing-modified BAE Systems Hawk-derived T-45 for a contract to replace the USAF's fleet of 500 Northrop T-38s. The air force had been looking to launch the new advanced trainer programme in the middle portion of the next decade, but in recent months some USAF officials have been thinking about starting the competition as early as 2009 or 2010.
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The winner is also likely to be acquired by the US Navy to replace its early T-45s. "We believe the T-38/T-45 replacement will be accelerated," says Giordo.
In anticipation of the launch of a tender process, potential suppliers are starting to study possible teaming arrangements. Giordo says Alenia North America is still studying various business structures, adding that pursuing a prime role "is a possibility", as is a joint venture or handing responsibility for local production to a US manufacturer. "We're exploring all the options," he says.
How BAE will proceed is also uncertain, as its T-45 partnership with Boeing expires in 2010. The T-50 team is more predictable, as Lockheed retained rights to sell the aircraft in the USA as part of its original co-development deal with KAI. A US assembly line for the T-50 should it be sold to the USAF was also always envisaged.
While the T-50 was co-developed by Lockheed and is based on the F-16, Giordo says: "We don't feel we have any American competitor." He claims there is not much competition in the advanced trainer field and that Alenia is confident, especially after having won the US presidential helicopter and Joint Cargo Aircraft competitions. "The situation is ideal for us to promote the M-346," he says.
Lockheed, however, points out that US content on Korea’s T-50s is more than 50% and “will likely increase” if the aircraft is produced for US customers. While KAI is the prime contractor for the T-50s now being delivered in Korea, Lockheed confirms that “by agreement Lockheed will be the prime contractor for any sale to the US military services”.
It adds: “We believe the T-50 is the right aircraft to train pilots for 5th generation fighter aircraft.”
Alenia Aermacchi began test flights with its first production-standard M-346 in July, with the type to enter service with the Italian air force. The T-50 has been in South Korean air force use since 2006. Both are still trying to secure an initial export order and are battling to win contests in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Singapore earlier this year eliminated BAE's Hawk 128 and is expected to make a final selection next year, with its requirement in particular being closely monitored by the USA and several other countries.
Source: Flight International
