Austria Acquires 12 Leonardo M-346FA Aircraft in €1.5B Deal

Austria has finalized a €1.5 billion agreement to acquire 12 Leonardo M-346FA aircraft, with deliveries beginning in 2028.

The deal stems from a G2G pact with Italy signed in May 2025 and a Letter of Intent from December 2024.

The aircraft will be stationed at Linz-Hörsching Air Base, the former home of the Saab 105 fleet. The defense ministry confirmed a unit price of €80 million, with the full package—including weapons, simulators, training systems, and maintenance—bringing the total to €1.5 billion.

Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said the M-346FA will serve as both a training and operational aircraft, restoring a capability lost when the Saab 105 retired five years ago.

The purchase is paired with an industrial agreement expected to generate around €400 million in orders for Austrian companies, according to Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer.

The aircraft form a central part of Austria’s two-fleet strategy, complementing the Eurofighter with a lighter, multirole platform. The MoD said the M-346FA will alleviate pressure on the Eurofighter fleet by handling training and lower-intensity missions.

Austria’s package includes 12 M-346FAs, with options for 12 more, along with Full Mission Simulators, computer-based training systems, Live Virtual Constructive capability, helmet-mounted devices, IRIS-T integration, Link 16, gun pods, rocket launchers, and SPEAR AECM pods. The Italian Ministry of Defense said the configuration provides full dual-role capability for both training and combat tasks.

The M-346FA—already fielded by Italy, Israel, Poland, and Singapore—features seven hardpoints, a strengthened airframe, a defensive aids system, and the Grifo-346 radar. It is capable of missions including air policing, close air support, slow-mover intercept, TASMO, and tactical reconnaissance, with a payload capacity above 2,000 kilograms.