Leonardo’s M-346 Enters Canada

Leonardo has secured a major strategic breakthrough in North America after Canada’s International Test Pilots School (ITPS) signed an agreement for six M-346 T Block 20 advanced jet trainers, with options for six additional aircraft. The deal, announced today at Leonardo’s Venegono facility in northern Italy, will bring the Italian-built trainers to the International Tactical Training Centre (ITTC) in North Bay, Ontario, starting from 2029.

Far more than a standard export contract, the agreement places Leonardo inside one of the most influential independent tactical training ecosystems used by NATO and allied air forces, reinforcing Italy’s growing role in the global fifth-generation pilot training market.

Canada Becomes a New Strategic Hub for the M-346

The new aircraft will replace the aging Aero Vodochody L-39 fleet currently used by ITPS for advanced tactical training. Their arrival marks a major capability leap for the Canadian center, which already supports test pilot and operational training activities for military customers from across the Western alliance network.

Located at North Bay’s Jack Garland Airport, the ITTC operates from one of the longest runways in Northern Ontario, offering an ideal environment for exploiting the full transonic performance envelope of the twin-engine Italian trainer.

The decision followed an extensive evaluation campaign conducted in recent months. Back in late 2025, ITPS leadership performed detailed flight assessments of the aircraft, validating the M-346 Block 20 as one of the few platforms capable of realistically reproducing the operational complexity faced by pilots transitioning toward aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

That capability has become increasingly important as NATO air forces continue expanding their fifth-generation fleets while simultaneously struggling with pilot shortages and limited advanced training capacity.

The Block 20: Leonardo’s Digital Training Architecture

The Block 20 configuration represents the most advanced evolution of the M-346 program to date.

At the core of the upgrade is a completely redesigned digital cockpit architecture intended to mirror next-generation combat aircraft environments. The aircraft introduces a new Large Area Display, replacing traditional segmented instrumentation with a single wide digital interface similar to those now standard on modern frontline fighters.

The platform also integrates augmented reality systems and helmet-mounted technologies capable of generating synthetic tactical environments during live flight operations. This allows pilots to train against virtual air and surface threats without requiring large force packages.

Leonardo is additionally introducing AI-driven synthetic adversaries inside the training ecosystem, enabling dynamic threat generation and increasingly complex mission rehearsal scenarios.

The result is not simply a trainer aircraft, but a scalable integrated training infrastructure combining live flying, simulation and synthetic warfare environments.

A Strategic Market Beyond Europe

For Leonardo, the Canadian agreement arrives during a period of sustained momentum for the M-346 family. The aircraft recently surpassed 100,000 global flight hours and continues expanding across NATO and partner nations, including Poland and Austria, while also preparing to become the future platform of Italy’s Frecce Tricolori.

The North American breakthrough could now open additional opportunities in a rapidly expanding sector: outsourced advanced military flight training.

As allied air forces accelerate rearmament programs and increase defense spending, demand for integrated pilot generation pipelines is expected to grow sharply throughout the second half of the decade. In this context, Leonardo is increasingly positioning the M-346 not simply as an aircraft export product, but as the backbone of a NATO-oriented global training ecosystem.