The Canadian and Italian Prime Ministers launched the negotiations to acquire the M-346 superior jet coach for the Royal Canadian Air Pressure.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, launched the negotiations for Canada’s buy of the M-346 superior jet coach. The 2 officers met on June 16, 2026, on the sidelines of the 2026 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Évian, France.
The official press launch by the Canadian authorities frames the acquisition among the many more and more shut ties between the 2 international locations in protection and safety. “Leveraging Italian experience in aerospace and protection, this settlement will allow the Royal Canadian Air Pressure to coach in state-of-the-art tools and construct sovereign coaching functionality,” says the assertion.
The brand new improvement comes lower than a month after the Worldwide Take a look at Pilots Faculty Canada (ITPS Canada) has ordered the M-346T Block 20 as its new jet coach. The RCAF, as a part of the modernization of its coaching pipeline, has been engaged on a Future Fighter Lead-in Coaching (FFLIT) program to interchange the fleet of CT-155 Hawk jet trainers.
The Hawks have been retired in March 2024 after 24 years of service as they have been “now not assembly the wants of in-air coaching for fifth-generation fighters just like the RCAF’s future CF-35A,” mentioned the Ministry of Protection. Since a substitute was not but chosen, Canadian pilots continued their coaching on the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Coaching (ENJJPT) program at Sheppard Air Pressure Base, Texas and the Italian Air Pressure’s Worldwide Flight Coaching Faculty (IFTS) at Decimomannu Air Base, Italy.
Particulars in regards to the future acquisition of the M-346 by the RCAF aren’t but out there. Canada initially acquired 22 CT-155 trainers, though it’s unclear if they are going to be changed on a one-to-one foundation.
The brand new FFLIT will see the RCAF and CAE working collectively to develop and refine this system, which can put together and prepare pilots for the transition to the CF-35A. Notably, CAE additionally partnered with Leonardo and the Italian Air Pressure for the IFTS, which equally employs the M-346 coach.
Whereas not specified, it’s seemingly the RCAF will purchase the brand new Block 20 variant of the M-346. This might additionally result in synergies with ITPS Canada’s fleet of M-346s, which are supposed to assist the growth of NATO and Allied tactical fighter pilot coaching on the firm’s Worldwide Tactical Coaching Centre (ITTC) in North Bay, Ontario.
Future Aircrew Coaching
The Royal Canadian Air Pressure (RCAF) is endeavor a significant transformation of its coaching system by the Future Aircrew Coaching (FAcT) program. The trouble is designed to arrange pilots and mission specialists for more and more advanced operational environments whereas supporting the introduction of latest plane fleets and capabilities.
The FAcT program noticed a 25-year contract awarded to SkyAlyne in 2024 to equip the service with state-of-the-art platforms for aircrew coaching. This system will consolidate a number of legacy coaching methods right into a single, built-in pipeline for pilots, Air Fight Programs Officers (ACSOs), and Airborne Digital Sensor Operators (AES Ops).
The purpose is to mix stay flying, superior simulators, classroom instruction, upkeep assist, and new coaching infrastructure throughout a number of Canadian bases. A complete of 71 plane throughout 5 fleets are being launched, together with the CT-102B Astra II, CT-157 Siskin II, CT-153 Juno, CT-145E Expeditor II, and CT-142Q Citadel.
Past new plane, the RCAF can be modernizing how coaching is delivered. The Coaching Modernization Technique promotes a extra built-in and technology-enabled method, emphasizing data-driven instruction, expanded use of simulation, and a “just-in-time” coaching mannequin that delivers data when it’s wanted somewhat than instructing expertise “simply in case” they’re required later, defined the MoD.
This technique additionally envisions using synthetic intelligence and superior studying instruments to personalize coaching, enhance effectivity, and cut back the burden on instructors. As soon as absolutely applied, the brand new coaching ecosystem is predicted to supply a extra versatile, scalable, and operationally related pipeline, guaranteeing that future RCAF aircrew are higher ready for contemporary aerospace and fight missions.
M-346 Block 20
Leonardo introduced on the 2024 Farnborough Worldwide Air Present the launch of a complete functionality enhancement bundle for the M-346. This main improve comes because the M-346 fleet surpassed 100,000 flight hours in addition to ten years of service.
Each M-346 AJT (Superior Jet Coach) coaching and M-346 LFFA (Mild Fighter Household of Plane) fighter variants will profit from these enhancements for a large spectrum of purposes, whereas implying vital margin for additional developments sooner or later. Leonardo mentioned that ‘M-346 T Block 20’ and ‘M-346 F Block 20’ are the designations for the brand new normal of each plane.
The Block 20 normal cockpit might be fully renewed, that includes two Giant Space Shows (LAD), one per every seat, changing the prevailing six Multi-Practical Shows (MFD), plus a low-profile Head-Up Show (HUD). These might be mixed with a brand new digital video and knowledge recorder and a brand new augmented actuality Helmet Mounted Show (HMD).
The M-346 Block 20 will even profit from new navigation, weapon administration, flight administration system, IFF (Identification of Pal or Foe) transponder. Particularly for the M-346 F variant, additional important functionality enhancements embrace an AESA (Lively Electronically Scanned Array) radar that includes fireplace management radar functionality, integration of latest weapons for each air-to-air and air-to-ground roles along with a built-in missile datalink.
