Austria is to acquire 12 Leonardo M-346FA light-attack/trainer jets as a replacement for its already retired Saab 105 fleet.

Announcing the planned government-to-government deal on 28 December, Austrian defence minister Klaudia Tanner said budget for the acquisition had been allocated in 2022.

M346-c-Leonardo

Source: Leonardo

Austria will acquire the armed version of the Italy-built jet trainer

Negotiations to finalise the contract with her Italian counterpart continue; Vienna is seeking industrial offset for the purchase.

“By purchasing the jets, we are closing a significant capability gap in our air force. This not only brings 100% of our pilot training back to Austria, but also significantly strengthens air defence,” says Tanner.

Austria will use the M-346FAs for pilot training, ground attack and air defence. Its Saab 105 fleet was retired in 2020.

The acquisition of the jets is the latest defence sale between the two countries, with Vienna having previously signed for 36 Leonardo Helicopters AW169Ms.

Dominic Perry is deputy editor of Flight International but also contributes extensively to flightglobal.com. Although specialising in the coverage of the helicopter industry, he has written on most topics in aerospace – be they commercial, defence or business aviation. In addition, there has been an increasing focus on the decarbonisation of the industry and zero-emission flight initiatives.View full Profile

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