Israel took delivery of two Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master light-attack training jets, Thursday, at a ceremony in Italy. The 20-million-Euro jets, which can reach a speed of Mach 1.15, are used at advanced stages of fighter training.
Israel is calling the planes Lavi after the 1980s project that was scuttled because of its cost. Israel is expected to buy 30 of the jets in the long term to replace its aging Skyhawk trainers at the Hatzerim base. Under the mutual purchase terms of the 2012 agreement between Israel and Italy, Israel will be making four billion shekels ($1.1 billion) in security-related sales to Italy.