European Air Force Places 2025 Order for 12 Fast-Jet Trainer Aircraft

Austria – The Austrian Air Force has announced a major investment in its fast-jet training and air-defence capabilities with the acquisition of 12 Leonardo M-346FA aircraft, valued at Euro 80 million per unit. The  Euro 1.5 billion programme will replace the retired Saab 105 fleet—withdrawn from service in 2020—which left Austria without a domestic jet-training platform and required pilot training to be outsourced abroad. Deliveries will run through 2028, with all aircraft to be based at Linz-Hörsching Air Base.

• The purchase forms the foundation of Austria’s planned two-fleet air-defence strategy, combining Eurofighter aircraft for airspace surveillance with the M-346FA for advanced pilot training and optional light-combat roles.

• The M-346FA will enable Austria to re-establish an end-to-end national pilot-training pipeline, reducing reliance on foreign training infrastructure and strengthening military flight-training sovereignty.

• The Defence and Economy Ministries, led by Klaudia Tanner and Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, confirmed that the programme includes parallel industrial contracts with Italian partners, expected to generate €400 million in revenue for Austrian companies across aerospace engineering, digitalisation and related sectors.

Source: Austrian Ministry of Defence