The Frecce Tricolori change their aircraft (and livery): they will receive the M-346 Masters

The new livery was designed by Pininfarina.

After more than 40 years of venerable career, the famous Aermacchi MB.339A in service with the Frecce Tricolori need to be replaced. Yesterday it was officially announced that the successor will be the M-346 Master.

At the moment there is talk of switching to the new aircraft by 2028.

The M-346 has been in service since 2015 with the Italian Air Force as an advanced trainer, designated T-346A; there are currently 18 in the fleet and fighter pilots use it for the last phase of their training, before moving on to operational units. New units are now planned to be acquired, although it is not clear whether the Frecce will receive new aircraft or existing ones already in service, which will then be replaced.

The M-346 is a beautiful little monster, larger than the MB.339A: it is a twin-engine subsonic aircraft, with a nominal maximum speed of Mach 0.95 (1000-1100 km/h), a maximum take-off weight of 9600 kg and fly-by-wire flight controls. It was designed by Alenia-Aermacchi, which over time became the current aircraft division of Leonardo, and is produced in the province of Varese in the Venegono plant.

A sad mention must be made of what for years was the designated successor of the MB.339, both for the Frecce and for basic-intermediate training for the Air Force flight school, namely the M-345. It is a much smaller and exponentially less complex aircraft than the M-346, with truly modest performance… but which unfortunately ran into huge problems (never officially specified) during its protracted development. Although it was formally delivered in 2020, the problems encountered and the flight characteristics demonstrated were such as to push the Air Force not to accept it and request modifications, but the problems have not yet been completely resolved. The decision to acquire the much more advanced, high-performance and expensive M-346 for the Frecce Tricolori implies that the M-345 has been definitively deemed inadequate for the aerobatic formation flight they perform.

https://theaviationist.com/2024/09/12/new-m-346-jet-for-the-frecce/