A special event was held at the International Pilot Training Center at 120 ATW Kalamata, where representatives of the Greek Government and the Ministry of Defense, the Hellenic Air Force, as well as representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the Israeli Air Force and Elbit Systems, welcomed the two first M-346, the modern training aircraft that will undertake the training and familiarization of the Air Force’s new generation of Icari to the requirements of modern fighter jets.
Present at the 120 ATW Kalamata ceremony were the Minister of Defense, Mr. Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Greece, Mr. Nikos Chardalias, the Chief of the General Staff of the National Defense, General Konstantinos Floros, the Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Themistoklis Bourolias, the Head of SIBAT, the IMoD International Defense Cooperation Directorate, Brig.-Gen. Yair Kulas, the head of the Israel Air Force Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar, Mr. Rani Kril, Executive Vice President International Marketing and Business Development and Mr. Yoram Shmuely, General Manager of Elbit Systems Aerospace. Also present was the Ambassador of Israel in Greece, Mr. Noam Katz, as well as representatives of the Hellenic air forces, and representatives of the region and the local government from Kalamata and the wider area of Messinia.
The two M–346s are the first of 10 aircrafts expected under the Government-to-Government agreement between the Hellenic and Israeli Defense Ministries, with Elbit Systems undertaking the creation of an International Flight Training Center at 120 ΑΤW Kalamata. The aircraft are equipped with Elbit Systems’ integrated virtual avionics that simulate combat and flight scenarios in order to bring the training experience of the pilots to the highest level. The M-346 aircraft are expected to fly thousands of hours per year.
Manufactured by Leonardo, the M-346 is a twin-engine, tandem-seat aircraft with fully digital flight controls and avionics. It is equipped with a fly-by-wire control system and has an interface with Head-Up Displays (HUD).The training systems features integrated on-board technology that simulates tactical training and is completed by the Ground Based Training System that optimizes fleet and simulator management. The handling of the M-346 is similar to that of next-generation combat aircraft maximizing the flight training of pilots.
Since the launch of the International Flight Training Center in 2021, the project is ahead of schedule, with the progress achieved praised by both the Defense Ministries of Greece and Israel. During a recent visit to Greece, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant praised the project, saying that “The International Education Center at the Kalamata airbase is an excellent example” of the growing defense ties between the two countries.
The fleet of T-6 aircraft now benefit from 100% logistic availability supported by the Logistics Center established at the airbase to provide ongoing technical support. In addition, the first training building has been completed and within the first half of 2023, the advanced flight simulators as well as ground and fleet control and communication systems are expected to be installed.
The work has been based on the extensive experience that the Company has gathered from various programs around the world. The Israeli Ministry Of Defense has contracted Elbit Systems for handling several training fleets for the IAF – including the Grob G120, the Bell 206, AW119 helicopters, the Texan T-6A basic trainer fleet and the M-346 advanced jet trainer fleet; the Israeli Ministry of Public Security also contracted the Company for the delivery, operation and maintenance of Israel’s Air Tractor aerial firefighting fleet. In 2016 Affinity, an Elbit Systems JV, was contracted to procure, operate and maintain the Phenom 100, Beechcraft T-6 and GROB G-120TP fleets of the UK MFTS for the Royal Air Force. These bring the total number of aircraft operated by Elbit Systems to over 170.
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