SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Washington's Alenia North America showcased its parent company's T-100 Integrated Training System at a U.S. Air Force training symposium.
The T-100 is Alenia Aeronautica's U.S. variant of the M-346, an aircraft that was conceived and developed to compliment the F-35. The Italian air force will be the first air force to receive the training system and has designated it the T-346A.
"The T-100 is the absolute best solution for the U.S. Air Force's T-X program; it was designed specifically to prepare pilots for fourth- and fifth-generation combat aircraft, such as the F-35," said John Young, chief executive officer of Alenia North America.
A roll-out ceremony for the first two Italian air force T-346A production aircraft occurred in December at Alenia's production facility in Italy. The aircraft will be transferred to the Italian air force's Test and Evaluation Center for operational evaluation testing and will be used for instructor flight training.
Alenia has also begun the sub-assembly phase for the aircraft that will be delivered to the Singapore air force.
The system was presented by Alenia North America late last week at the Air Force's Air Education and Training Command Symposium in San Antonio.
