Preliminary negotiations have already been held between the two countries.
During the upcoming G20 summit, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro next month, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will discuss with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva an agreement for the supply of 30 Leonardo M-346 combat aircraft to Brazil.
The proposal includes the delivery of 24 units to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and “at least six” to the Brazilian Navy, according to information from the Brazilian media.
Preliminary negotiations have already been held between the two countries, and the M-346s destined for Brazil could be equipped with Brazilian-made electronic systems and weapons, meeting the specific needs of the country’s armed forces.
The Brazilian Air Force, which is seeking to replace the aging AMX jets developed in collaboration with Italy in the 1980s, considers the M-346 a modern and viable option to complement the Gripen fighters already in operation. “The Brazilian Air Force urgently needs a replacement for the AMX, and the M-346 is a modern and affordable solution that will complement the Swedish Gripen fighters,” said a Brazilian government source.
If completed, the contract with Leonardo will provide the Brazilian Air Force and Navy with a new fleet of light attack aircraft, intended to replace the Air Force’s AMX and the Navy’s AF-1 (McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk). For the Navy, Leonardo proposed a variant of the M-346 called the T-100, which also competed in a U.S. combat training program, the TX, to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon, a competition that was won by the Boeing/Saab T-7 Red Hawk.
In July 2024, during the Farnborough Air Show, Leonardo presented to Brazil the M-346 Block 20 variant, optimized for light attack missions and aligned with FAB requirements. The M-346 is a subsonic jet designed for advanced training with two seats, following a concept similar to that of the A-1 AMX, also subsonic.
Originally developed by Italy’s Aermacchi in collaboration with Russia’s Yakovlev as the Yak-130, the M-346 project was pursued independently after the companies split.
The M-346 is currently in service with the air forces of six countries: Italy, Poland, Qatar, Greece, Israel and Singapore, offering versatility for both training and light combat missions.
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