Nigeria expects first batch of Leonardo M-346 fighter jets this year

ROME — Nigeria will take delivery of the first six of 24 Italian M-346 light fighter-trainer aircraft it has ordered by year end, the country’s Air Force has said.

Originally manufactured by Italy’s Leonardo as a twin-seater jet trainer, the M-346 has been acquired by Nigeria in its more recent, armed M-346FA fighter format.

The jets will be used for “close air support, air interdiction, and tactical reconnaissance as well as advanced pilot training,” the Air Force said in a statement.

The 24 aircraft are due to be delivered in four batches of six aircraft, with 25 years of logistic support included in the contract, the statement added.

Leonardo will profit from its maintenance operation on the aircraft in Nigeria to offer maintenance services there to its other clients in the region, the Air Force added.

The M-346FA, which has already reportedly been sold to Turkmenistan, offers seven external hard points and can integrate air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and targeting pods linked to Helmet Mounted Displays.

Last year, Leonardo struck a deal to mount Nexter’s 20mm 20M621 gun pod on the jet, offering greater range and precision than the 12.7mm gun produced by Belgium’s FN Herstal, which was previously supplied with the aircraft.

Both types would have been available for the Nigerian purchase.

Leonardo has to date sold a total of 126 M-346 trainers and M-346FA aircraft, including the 24-jet sale to Nigeria, with customers for the trainer version including Italy, Israel, Poland, Singapore and Qatar.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——尼日利亚空军表示，该国订购的24架意大利M-346轻型战斗教练机中的前6架将于年底前交付。

M-346 最初由意大利莱昂纳多公司制造，是一款双座喷气式教练机，尼日利亚后来采购了其更新的武装型 M-346FA 战斗机。

美国空军在一份声明中表示，这些喷气式飞机将用于“近距离空中支援、空中拦截、战术侦察以及高级飞行员训练”。

声明还补充说，这24架飞机将分四批交付，每批六架，合同中还包括25年的后勤支持。

空军补充说，莱昂纳多公司将从其在尼日利亚的飞机维护业务中获利，并向该地区的其他客户提供维护服务。

据报道，M-346FA 已售往土库曼斯坦，它提供七个外部挂点，可以集成空对空和空对地弹药以及与头盔显示器连接的瞄准吊舱。

去年，莱昂纳多公司达成协议，将奈克斯特公司的 20 毫米 20M621 机炮吊舱安装在该喷气式飞机上，与之前飞机所配备的比利时 FN Herstal 公司生产的 12.7 毫米机炮相比，该吊舱射程更远、精度更高。

尼日利亚人可以购买这两种类型的商品。

迄今为止，莱昂纳多公司已售出 126 架 M-346 教练机和 M-346FA 飞机，其中包括向尼日利亚出售的 24 架喷气式飞机，教练机的客户包括意大利、以色列、波兰、新加坡和卡塔尔。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。