Indonesian Block 25 F-16s
Regeneration work” for the last six Block 25 F-16C Fighting Falcons for Indonesia has been completed, the jets now delivered as part of the aircraft acquisition and refurbishment agreement approved by the US government. In total, 24 Block 25 F-16Cs and F-16Ds have been handed over to the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU, Indonesian Air Force). The aircraft, formerly operated by US Air Force and Air National Guard units, had been in storage at the Ogden ALC’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) located at DavisMonthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.
Delivery of the Italian Air Force’s eighteenth M-346 took place at Leonardo’s Aircraft Division site located at Venegono Superiore (Varese), joining the Galatina’s 61st Air Wing (Lecce) where Italian fighter pilots are trained together with personnel from other countries including the United States, Spain, France, Austria, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Argentina, Greece and Kuwait. The operational training, mostly carried out on the T-346A, is preparatory for the aero-tactical line, prior to flying fighters such as the Eurofighter or F-35. The Italian Air Force base also utilises LVC (Live, Virtual and Constructive Simulation) technology. Owing to LVC it is possible to link simulators to live sorties, allowing a pilot flying a full-motion training device on the ground to act as the wingman or as a target for an aircraft already in the air. The M-346 ordered by the Italian Air Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Israeli Air Force and Polish Air Force is the basis of the T-100 Integrated Training System, the solution offered by Leonardo DRS in the T-X competition for the US Air Force’s integrated training system programme.