MB-339

The Aermacchi MB-339 is a jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and produced by the Italian company Aermacchi. Developed in the 1970s to replace the Aeronautica Militare's MB-326s, it derives directly from that type and shares most of its airframe. Its first flight took place on 12 August 1976 and the first production aircraft were delivered in 1978-1979. About half of the production went to the Italian Air Force, which also operates it with the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team.

Development

In September 1972, Aermacchi received a study contract for the replacement of the MB-326. Seven entirely new designs, grouped under the designation MB-338, were compared with an improved version of the MB-326 designated MB-339; the latter met the requirements at lower cost. In 1975, the MB-339 was selected to replace the MB-326 and the Fiat G.91T. The MB-339X prototype flew on 12 August 1976, the first production aircraft in July 1978, and 101 MB-339As were delivered to the Italian Air Force between 1978 and 1987. The single-seat MB-339K Veltro II flew on 30 May 1980, and the MB-339B and MB-339C followed in 1985. In 1989, Aermacchi teamed with Lockheed and the aircraft division of General Motors to offer the T-Bird II for the American JPATS programme, won by the T-6 Texan II of Raytheon and Pilatus. The MB-339FD, offered in the 2000s, found no customer; the assembly line was reopened in 2006.

Design

Of conventional configuration, the MB-339 is of all-metal construction with a tricycle undercarriage. The main change from the MB-326 is the redesigned forward fuselage, which raises the instructor's seat. The two crew sit in tandem under a jettisonable canopy, with Martin-Baker ejection seats and a pressurised cockpit. The unswept low wing, identical to that of the MB-326K, carries tip tanks; the air intakes are at the wing roots. The original powerplant is a 17.8 kN Rolls-Royce Viper 632-43, replaced on the MB-339C by a 19.57 kN Viper 680. The combat versions receive an improved inertial navigation system, a digital nav/attack computer, a MIL-STD-1553B bus, HOTAS controls, a radio jammer, a radar warning receiver and electronic countermeasures.

Armament

Six underwing hardpoints allow up to 1,815 kg of external stores. Gun armament comprises two 12.7 mm M2 machine guns or two 30 mm DEFA cannon in pods; the MB-339K carries two internal 30 mm DEFA cannon. Qualified munitions include the AIM-9 Sidewinder and R.550 Magic air-to-air missiles, the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile, the Marte Mk.2 anti-ship missile, laser-guided bombs and Zuni or SNEB rocket pods.

Operational History

The Italian Air Force is the main user, with deliveries staggered from 1978; three Frecce Tricolori aircraft were destroyed in the 1988 air show accident in Germany. In October 2013, Italy announced their eventual replacement by the M-345. Export customers include New Zealand (18 MB-339CBs, No. 14 Squadron, 1991-2002), Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, Ghana, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Eritrea.

Argentine naval aviation ordered ten MB-339As in 1980, delivered in 1981 to 1 Escuadrilla de Ataque. Six were deployed to BAM Malvinas in April 1982. On 3 May, Lieutenant Benitez crashed on approach to Port Stanley. On 21 May, Lieutenant Owen Crippa attacked the British amphibious force and lightly damaged the frigate HMS Argonaut. On 27 May, an MB-339A (4-A-114) was shot down by a Blowpipe missile at Goose Green, killing Lieutenant Miguel. Three airframes were captured by the British.

Eritrea ordered six MB-339CEs in 1996. Committed from 5 June 1998 against Mekelle, they lost one aircraft on 6 June north of the city. On 12 June, four MB-339s attacked Adigrat with rockets and cluster bombs; a further strike on a fuel depot at Adigrat was reported on 5 February 1999.

Variants

• MB-339A: initial production version, 107 delivered to Italy in three batches between 1979 and 1995, plus four to Ghana and five to the United Arab Emirates.
• MB-339PAN: version for the Frecce Tricolori, fitted with a smoke generator and without tip tanks; 21 built or converted.
• MB-339K Veltro II: single-seat attack version, first flown on 30 May 1980, a single example built.
• MB-339CB: training and weapons training version for New Zealand, with a Viper 680-43 engine, laser rangefinder, radar warning receiver, AIM-9L and AGM-65; 18 built from March 1991.
• MB-339CD: Italian version of the MB-339C with a fully digital cockpit and a fixed refuelling probe, retaining the Viper 632-43; 30 built.