# Alenia Aermacchi (Finmeccanica / now Leonardo) signs contract with Israeli MoD for 30 M-346 trainer jets > *This is the official Leonardo/Finmeccanica corporate news release, dated Rome, 18 July 2012, announcing that its subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi signed a contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defence to supply 30 M-346 advanced trainer aircraft as part of a larger government-to-government agreement between Italy and Israel. It is a primary/official source documenting Leonardo's direct defence-trade relationship with the Israeli military — relevant context for an investigation into the corporate parent (Leonardo) of the ELSAG ALPR product line and that group's broader business with Israel.* ## Source metadata - **Publisher:** Leonardo S.p.A. (the 2012 release was issued under the Finmeccanica / Alenia Aermacchi names; now hosted on leonardo.com) - **URL:** https://www.leonardo.com/en/news-and-stories-detail/-/detail/alenia-aermacchi-signs-contract-with-israeli-mod-for-30-m-346 - **Archived:** 2026-06-07 via firecrawl_scrape - **Tier:** 2 (primary/official — the vendor's own news release) ## Extract — verbatim (lightly cleaned) "# Alenia Aermacchi signs contract with Israeli MoD for 30 M-346 Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, has signed a contract with Israeli Ministry of Defence to supply 30 M-346 advanced trainer aircraft. Rome, 18 July 2012" "Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, has signed a contract with I[sraeli Ministry of] Defence to supply 30 M-346 advanced trainer aircraft." "The deal is part of a larger Government-to-Government agreement between Is[rael and Italy and] includes aircraft, engines, maintenance, logistics, simulators and training, provided also by ot[her] Israeli and international companies." "The new aircraft will replace the A-4 Skyhawks currently in service and will m[odernise the] trainer fleet of the Israeli Air Force. Delivery of the first M-346 is expected in the middle of 2014." Attribution / quote in release: Giuseppe Giordo, Alenia Aermacchi Chief Executive Officer and Responsible for the Aeronautics Sector of Finmeccanica, said the achievement "is the result of the technological excellence of the Italian industry ... This achievement is an outstanding success for Italy, both at institutional and industrial level." **Background (verbatim):** "Following the contract signed at the end of 2009 for the acquisition of a first lot of six M-346 aircraft and the ground-based training systems, the first two M-346s were delivered to the Italian Air Force at the beginning of the year." "The M-346 received its Military Type Qualification Certificate from the Italian Ministry of Defence - National Armaments Directorate in June 2011 ..." Linked official attachments on the page: - Contract_Israeli_MoD_30_M_346_19072012.pdf - ATTACHMENT_m_346_19072012.pdf