Oscar Bernardi, a colleague who often takes photographs in the approach area of Leonardo’s Venegono factory airfield in northern Italy, was right a few months ago: the latest examples of the advanced trainer and the light fighter variant of the M-346 Master (known in Italy as the T.346A and not unknown to aspiring Austrian jet pilots during their Phase 3 and Phase 4 training), which he spotted there, are intended for Turkmenistan in Central Asia.
Representatives of Leonardo were not allowed to say anything about the deal for a long time, ever since company boss Alessandro Profumo mentioned six of the M-346FA, which are armed and equipped with on-board radar, for an unnamed launch customer more than a year ago. Judging by the color scheme, the aircraft could only have been intended for Azerbaijan (confirmation could also be given for this country in the medium term, the aircraft was presented both here and there) or its counterpart Turkmenistan. And on August 2, the government-controlled TV agency AltynAsyr from the capital Ashgabad confirmed this in a short report. The Turkmen air force already placed an order worth around 500 million euros with Leonardo in 2019, but this does not just include two M-346FA and four M-346FT trainers (see below).
Head of state tries out right away
At least the first two aircraft (tactical no. “01” and “02”) from the agreement are likely to have been delivered in May or June; they can be seen in a short clip. Turkmen President and Head of State Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov personally inspected the new aircraft during a visit to the Aktepe military airfield on August 1. And he apparently even flew in one of them after cycling to the base after his morning workout, as the report notes with the necessary dose of personality cult. Incidentally, this can be taken even further: immediately after the flight and his supposedly self-controlled landing, he “donated” the pilot’s equipment he was wearing to the Berdymukhamed Annayev Military Academy named after his father, where cadets from all branches of the armed forces are already allowed to marvel at it for the purpose of “fulfillment with inspiration” (see YouTube clip below). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPSMUzb1Eq4&t=1878s
Classic (support) capabilities
Leonardo has been developing the light combat version of its M-346 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) for six years and has already been able to fly the twin-engine jet in Italy, Israel, Singapore, Poland (report) and most recently (via Irael’s ELBIT) in Greece (report) have been successful. As early as 2017 reported Militär Aktuell reported on the presentation of the FA version in Paris/Le-Bourget. The Austrian Armed Forces were also a major topic in Venegono for a long time in terms of the successor to the Saab-105, which was then retired without replacement. According to information from MIlitär Aktuell, we still are, although interest has naturally cooled somewhat recently.
The M-346FA is still regarded as an extremely cost-effective, tactical solution for modern military airspace management and the training required for this. This is because the version retains all the attributes of the M-346AJT, including the on-board simulation (ETTS or Embedded Tactical Training Simulation), which means that the M-346FA can still be used as an advanced trainer and for entry-level fighter training (LIFT or Lead-In Fighter Trainer) and can offer the full range of simulated training functions in flight. It also integrates the fully validated M-346 Integrated Training System (IST), with Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) capabilities. The M-346FA is equally well suited for air-to-ground (CAS/COIN and interdiction with precision munitions) and, thanks to the Grifo-M-346 multi-mode radar, also for air-to-air (air policing and homeland defense) and tactical reconnaissance missions with sensor pods. In addition, modern self-defense equipment with missile approach warning sensors, decoy launchers in the wing roots and a series of additional antennas for secure communication and tactical data radio systems are integrated. The underwing and wingtip pylons can carry a range of armament variants, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, as well as unguided rockets and auxiliary fuel tanks.
Not the only Western aircraft
As in all former Soviet republics, the spearhead of the air force consists mainly of Russian aircraft from the pre-independence era. Only Kazakhstan has since introduced new Su-30s. In Turkmenistan, too, the two most important “frontline” types are the MiG-29 and Su-25 – but the “blue 346s” are no longer the only Western, or even the only Italian aircraft. Back in 2011, the Italian Foreign Ministry gave AgustaWestland (a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, now Leonardo) the green light for the sale of five AgustaWestland AW-139 multi-role helicopters under file number MAE 21998. The associated pilot and maintenance training as well as hardware support to Turkmenistan amounting to 64 million euros is listed under file number MAE 21998. The payments were made in 2011 and 2012. According to Italian colleagues, there is no similar file number, but three small AW109s – with external load carriers – flew over the capital during a military parade in Ashgabat in October 2016. In addition, the inventory now includes at least one Leonardo C-27JNG (Next Generation) transport aircraft, as reported by “The Aviationist” can read can be read. Since a contract was signed at the Farnborough International Air Show in 2010, the fleet has also included two large AW101 helicopters in VVIP luxury version (for “very very important persons”).
Finally, on May 28 of this year, two Brazilian Embraer A-29B Super Tucano light turboprop fighter aircraft for the Turkmenistan Air Force were photographed in Malta/Luqa – a popular refueling stopover for new Western military aircraft bound for the Near/Middle East and Asia. The two A-29Bs, registered as PT-ZHI (c/n 31400270) and PT-ZHJ (c/n 31400271), had their national emblems pasted over, but their characteristic shapes were recognizable in relief. Colleagues from the Dutch platform “Scramble” already reported their existence on December 9, 2020, when the aircraft were discovered in São José dos Campos, Brazil. According to their information, Embraer had been in talks with the Turkmen government since 2019 about a contract for six Super Tucanos. Both parties denied the talks at the time, as well as the presumed number of aircraft. In June 2019, however, Turkmenistan’s state television broadcast images of PT-ZTU (an Embraer demonstration aircraft) flying over a Turkmen airbase. No classic weapons systems
Head of state Berdymukhamedov is a dentist by profession and has ruled Turkmenistan since December 2006 without being legitimized by elections as we know them, similar to his unelected predecessor and state founder Saparmyrat Nyyazov (“Turkmenbasy” = father of the Turkmen), whose personal physician he was. Like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the current president of the resource-rich and therefore internationally relevant one-party state – together with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan a neighboring country of Afghanistan, which is now becoming more insecure again – is known for his multi-layered personal staging. He is often photographed in a military look, races in expensive sports cars, chases from the saddle, DJs in Ashgabad’s biggest clubs, drives giant combine harvesters and other large pieces of equipment, but also writes books about tea and herbs or a rap about noble horses – a great myth in the steppe country. From his capital, designed as a 1001-night retort of the 21st century, he governs a country which, according to Reporters Without Borders, had the third worst conditions for press freedom in 2018, just ahead of Eritrea and North Korea. On Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, Turkmenistan ranked 167th out of 180 countries – just behind Angola and ahead of Iraq.
The EU had actually agreed to refrain from exporting arms to customers known for internal repression. And there are actually also local Italian laws that state that “the export of armaments to countries whose governments are responsible for identified violations of international human rights conventions is prohibited”. But training aircraft or even multi-purpose helicopters are obviously not weapons systems or armaments in the traditional sense. Whatever the contractual end-user or a later user on the ground hangs underneath at some point. This is a recurring “phenomenon” in Africa in particular – Pilatus is also familiar with this problem. In the most recent screenshots, the Turkmen M-346FAs were only carrying so-called “smokewinders” for smoke strip production, as used at airshows, for example, or for the “edification” of high and highest guests. However, it is not known what they wear away from the cameras and in a potential emergency.
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