The purchase of twelve Leonardo M-346 jets as a replacement for the decommissioned Saab 105s is finalized. Most recently, negotiations had been taking place in parallel on details of the purchase and industrial cooperation, and now all contracts with Italy have been signed, according to the ministries involved speaking to APA. The unit price is around 80 million euros. For the entire package, including armament, ammunition, maintenance, and training. Austria is paying around 1.5 billion euros.
Industrial cooperation agreements worth 400 million euros concluded
Industrial cooperation agreements between Austria and Italy worth 400 million euros were concluded. They are expected to cover the areas of aeronautical engineering, the supplier industry, digitalization, and security-related research. The agreement protects national security interests and complies with the rules of the European single market, it was said. The new aircraft are to be delivered in 2028 and stationed in Linz-Hörsching.
With the decision in favor of the Leonardo jets, the Armed Forces are remaining true to their two-fleet strategy and can thus carry out pilot training entirely within Austria. Since the retirement of the Saab aircraft, fighter pilot training had temporarily been outsourced to Italy and Germany.
“The purchase of twelve Leonardo M-346-FA jets is complete,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Economics Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (both ÖVP). “This government-to-government transaction brings greater security and valuable industrial cooperation for Austria.” In addition to the aircraft purchase, an agreement for economic cooperation was also concluded with the Italians.
Possible cooperation areas include joint product development by Leonardo and Austrian high-tech companies, the participation of domestic firms in maintenance, software, training, and system integration, as well as joint research projects, for example in aviation, simulation, materials technology, and sensor systems. This is intended to channel taxpayers’ money back into Austria in the form of value creation, Tanner and Hattmannsdorfer emphasized. “Every euro of cooperation creates new investments and makes our location more resilient,” Hattmannsdorfer stressed. This opens a “new chapter of industrial collaboration between business, research, and defense.”
The move was well received by the business community. “The fact that the federal government is taking the opportunity to combine security-policy requirements with economic prudence and industrial foresight is an important signal, especially at a time when many companies are under economic pressure,” said the president of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), Georg Knill, in a statement on Saturday. “Industrial cooperation is an investment in the competitiveness and future viability of our country,” emphasized Wolfgang Hesoun, vice president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and chair of the Working Group on Industrial Cooperation and Aeronautical Technology in the WKÖ.
Procurement an important part of the ‘2032+ Development Plan’
“We have delivered what we promised,” said Tanner. The Leonardo jets significantly strengthen the Air Force. The purchase serves not only to protect neutrality and the population; the two-seat jets can also be used as training aircraft, which was an “important criterion” for this procurement, Tanner emphasized. In addition, they are an “important part of the 2032+ development plan.” This plan will continue to be implemented “step by step with the necessary consistency,” said the defense minister.
