At the Finmeccanica exhibit here at Farnborough (Outside OE2) visitors once again can find Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 lead-in fighter trainer. At a first glance the aircraft looks the same as that exhibited at previous airshows, but close up it is possible to note some of the differences featured in this first preproduction aircraft, which was rolled out from the Italian group’s assembly line in April. However, many of the significant changes are not visible externally.
The need to reduce the airframe’s weight, improve manufacturing efficiency and streamline maintenance requirements were the main drivers in the shift from the development and demonstration phase of the program to the pre-industrialization stage. Weight-saving has been on the cards from the start as the two prototype M-346s were equipped with the AMX trainer’s landing gear so the aircraft could be flown while the actual gear was being designed and produced with composite content increased from around 12 to 20 percent. In the rear area, some heat-critical components are built of titanium using super plastic forming (SPF) techniques.
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