Israel receives first 2 Lavi trainers

Alenia Aermacchi delivered two of 30 M-346 training jets to the Israeli Air Force.

The M-346 – renamed the “Lavi” by Israel – will replace Douglas TA-4s and eliminate the need to bridge with the Lockheed Martin F-16A/B for Israeli fighter pilots.Israel selected the M-346 in 2012 as part of a government-to-government agreement with Italy, which included the sale of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)/Gulfstream G550 conformal airborne early warning and control aircraft to the Italian air force.The M-346s are equipped with two Honeywell F124 turbofan engines and fly-by-wire flight controls.