Alenia Aeronautica

Alenia Aeronautica

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1990
Defunct	2012
Fate	Restructured and rebranded as Alenia Aermacchi; later integrated into Leonardo
Headquarters	Italy
Products	Aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Missile Systems
Parent	Finmeccanica (later Leonardo)

Alenia Aeronautica was an aerospace firm based in Italy, with subsidiaries such as Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali under its corporate umbrella.

The company also held a partial ownership stake in ATR, a collaborative venture formed with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).

In January 2012, Alenia Aeronautica underwent restructuring and was rebranded as Alenia Aermacchi. Three years afterward, it was fully integrated into Finmeccanica, which later evolved into a more consolidated entity known as Leonardo.

History

Established in 1990, Alenia Aeronautica emerged from the consolidation of the subsidiaries Aeritalia and Selenia, both originally part of IRI.

The newly formed enterprise became involved in multiple aircraft projects and international collaborations, including the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon initiative and the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber programme. As a member of Panavia Aircraft GmbH, Aeritalia was responsible for manufacturing the Tornado’s wings, while partners (British Aerospace and MBB/DASA) produced other sections of the airframe. Additionally, Alenia Aeronautica owned a 20% share in Turbo-Union, the company tasked with developing and producing the RB199 engines used by the Tornado. The production of Tornado aircraft concluded in 1998, with the last units delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

File:Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 MOD 45160576.jpg

RAF Typhoon FGR4 ZK356 displaying its delta wing configuration, July 2016

Alenia held a 19.5% workshare interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme. The prototype’s maiden flight occurred on 27 March 1994 in Bavaria. By September 1998, contracts were finalized for manufacturing 148 Tranche 1 aircraft along with the acquisition of long lead-time components for Tranche 2 units.

Yak-130 development

File:Aermacchi M-346-002(w).jpg

M-346 prototype 002 displayed at the 2005 Le Bourget airshow

Main article: Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master

In 1992, Aermacchi entered into a collaboration agreement with the Russian aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev to assist in developing a new trainer aircraft intended for the Russian Air Force. As part of this arrangement, Aermacchi obtained rights to adapt and market the aircraft for Western customers. The aircraft made its inaugural flight in 1996, at which time it was promoted under the designation Yak/AEM-130.

By October 1998, reports indicated that the project was increasingly dominated by the Italian side due to insufficient financial contributions from Russia.

In mid-2000, it was announced that disagreements between the partners and a continued lack of Russian funding had led to the dissolution of their joint venture. From that point forward, each company decided to pursue separate development paths. Yakovlev received a final compensation of US$77 million for transfer of technical documentation. Under this agreement, Yakovlev retained rights to market the Yak-130 within nations such as those in the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as India, Slovakia, and Algeria. Conversely, Aermacchi acquired exclusive rights to sell the M-346 to NATO countries and other markets. The M-346 represents a substantially redesigned variant derived from the original joint design, incorporating solely Western-sourced components. The debut of the first M-346 prototype took place on 7 June 2003, followed by its maiden flight on 15 July 2004.

In January 2005, Greece’s Ministry of Defense entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to join as a programme partner, with an industrial cooperation agreement between Alenia and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry formalized in early 2006.

At the FIDAE air show in March 2008, Chilean aerospace firm ENAER signed an MOU with Alenia. Subsequently, in May 2008, Boeing entered into an MOU to collaborate on marketing, sales, training, and support activities concerning two Aermacchi trainers: the M-346 and the M-311. On 18 December 2008, Aermacchi declared that the M-346 had reached a top speed of Mach 1.15 (1,255 km/h, 678 knots, or approximately 780 mph), marking this event as the first occasion in half a century that a fully Italian-built aircraft surpassed the sound barrier.

On 20 June 2011, Alenia Aermacchi received Military Type Certification for the M-346 Master from Italy’s General Directorate for Aeronautical Armaments within the Italian Ministry of Defence located in Rome.

C-27J

In 1995, Alenia and Lockheed Martin initiated talks aimed at modernizing Alenia's G.222 tactical transport aircraft by integrating the C-130J's advanced glass cockpit technology along with an enhanced version of the G.222's T64G engine and updated four-blade propellers. This development led to the creation of the C-27J. In 1997, the two companies established Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) to advance the C-27J project. The design was subsequently modified to incorporate the C-130J's AE 2100 powerplant paired with six-blade propellers. Additional upgrades included a fully digital MIL-STD-1553 avionics and systems architecture, alongside a redesigned cargo bay to enhance interoperability. Compared to the G.222, the C-27J offers a 35% extension in operational range and achieves cruise speeds approximately 15% higher. To promote the C-27J globally, Alenia Aeronautica partnered with American defense firm L-3 Communications to create the Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS) joint venture; later, Boeing also became part of GMAS. In 2007, the U.S. Defense Department selected the C-27J for its Joint Cargo Aircraft program, awarding an initial contract valued at US$2.04 billion for 78 units in June of that year.

Transition to Leonardo

In 2002, during a corporate restructuring by Finmeccanica, Alenia Aeronautica was formally incorporated as an independent entity when Finmeccanica separated its various business units into standalone companies. Subsequently, Finmeccanica consolidated its operations under a unified structure and adopted the name Leonardo for the entire group.

Aircraft

• Alenia C-27J Spartan
• ATR 42
• ATR 72
• Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

• Alenia Aeronautica ITV
• Alenia Aermacchi Sky-X
• Alenia Aermacchi Sky-Y

Joint Ventures

• Eurofighter in partnership with EADS and BAE Systems
• AMX International in collaboration with Embraer
• Panavia Tornado through Panavia Aircraft GmbH
• nEUROn Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle development alongside Dassault Aviation and other partners
• Boeing 787 produced via the joint venture Global Aeronautica, LLC with Boeing

Missile Systems

• Aspide

See also

• Alenia Marconi Systems
• Thales Alenia Space, formerly known as Alenia Spazio and Alcatel Alenia Space

Bibliography

• Jackson, Paul, Kenneth Munson, Lindsay Peacock, and John W. R. Taylor, editors. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1997–98. London: Jane's Information Group, 1998. ISBN 0-7106-1788-7.