Italy's Finmeccanica has won a major contract to supply the United Arab Emirates air force with its transonic trainer jet aircraft, official announced on Wednesday.
The contract, won by ts subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi, calls for Finmeccanica to supply the UAE with 48 M-346 trainer planes.
This was the first contract won by the new M-346 aircraft, which was chosen over BAE Systems' Hawk 128 and the T-50 produced by the Korean Aerospace Industry (KAI).
Although it has yet to be confirmed, insiders said the deal was worth over one billion euros.
The deal, was announced here on Wednesday at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (Idex), involves the creation of a joint venture in the UAE, a final assembly line, between Alenia Aermacchi and the Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi government's investment arm which also holds a 5% stake in Ferrari.
''The selection of the M-346 by the UAE government represents a major success for Italy's high-tech industry. It also demonstrates on an international level the validity of this new generation advanced trainer aircraft and opens the way for further deals on other world markets, where negotiations are already under way,'' said Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini.
The UAE's acquisition of the Italian aircraft, observed Finmeccanica Director General Giorgio Zappa, ''confirms that the M-346 is a leading trainer aircraft on a world level for new generation fighter pilots''.
The M-346, also known as the 'Master', ''can today become a 'best seller' in a market which is expected to see a demand of over 2,000 aircraft over the next 20 years,'' he added.
Zappa thanked the Italian Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Vincenzo Caporrini, and Defense Undersecretary Guido Crosetto ''for their confidence and support which contributed to achieving this important result''.
Finmeccanica is Italy's leading high-tech group and Italy's second biggest industrial conglomerate, operating in the sectors of defense, aerospace, security, automation, transportation and energy.
