Elbit completes ground training center delivery for Israeli forces

HAIFA, Israel, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Elbit Systems has completed its delivery of a Ground Based Training System center for the Israeli air force.

The facility will support training exercises for the M-346 aircraft, a plane designed to condition trainees for fourth- and fifth-generation fighters such as the F-16, F-15, and F-35. According to Elbit, the training system provides a nearly identical flight environment using networked simulators.

The Alenia Aermacchi-made M-346 aircraft is a twin-engine transonic trainer aircraft first flown in 2004. Israeli pilots have been using the plane for training purposes since 2014. It is equipped with an Embedded Tactical Training Simulation, which emulates countermeasures, armament and simulators.

The Ground Based Training System, or GBTS, builds on the training effort by enabling cadets to practice unusual and in-flight emergency procedures at a more advanced level. Company officials said in a press release the simulators are as close as it gets to real-life scenarios.

The GBTS was developed by Elbit in collaboration with Alenia Aermacchi, part of the Leonardo-Finmeccanica Group. Elbit Systems was the prime contractor for the delivery to the Israeli air force.