Italian Air Force AMX Solo Display
Country
Italy
Aircraft
A-11 Ghibli
Base
Pratica di Mare Air Base
AMX International A-11 Ghibli
The AMX International AMX is a ground-attack aircraft jointly developed by Brazil and Italy. The AMX is designated A-11 Ghibli by the Italian Air Force and A-1 by the Brazilian Air Force. The Italian name, "Ghibli", is taken from the hot dry wind of the Libyan desert.
During the early 1970s, Italian manufacturer Aermacchi conducted a design study on a prospective light ground attack aircraft, which was given the designation of MB-340. In early 1977, the Italian Air Force issued a requirement for 187 new-build strike fighters, which were to replace its existing Aeritalia G.91 in the close air support. In 1980, the Brazilian government announced that they intended to participate in the program in order to provide a replacement for the Aermacchi MB-326. As a result of a memorandum between Italy and Brazil for the type's joint development in 1981, AMX International, an Italian-Brazilian joint venture, was formed to develop, manufacture, and market the aircraft.
In early 1977, the Italian Air Force issued a requirement for 187 new-build strike fighters, which were to replace its existing Aeritalia G.91 in the close air support and reconnaissance missions, as well as the Lockheed RF-104G Starfighter also being used in the reconnaissance role. Rather than competing for the contract, Aeritalia (now Alenia Aeronautica) and Aermacchi agreed to produce a joint proposal for the requirement, as both firms had been considering the development of a similar class of aircraft for some years. During the early 1970s, Aermacchi had been conducted work on a design study for such a light ground attack aircraft under the designation of MB-340. In April 1978, development work on the joint venture formally commenced.
In 1980, the Brazilian government announced that they intended to participate in the program in order to provide a replacement for the Aermacchi MB-326. In July 1981, the Italian and Brazilian governments agreed on joint requirements for the aircraft, and Embraer was invited to join the industrial partnership. An agreement was also struck to divide AMX manufacturing between the partners; for each production aircraft, Aeritalia manufactured 46.5 per cent of the components (central fuselage, stabilisers and rudders), Aermacchi produced 22.8 per cent (front fuselage and tail cone), and Embraer performed 29.7 per cent of the work (wing, air intakes, pylons and drop tanks). There was no duplication of work, each component of the aircraft was built at one source only. The planned requirements were 187 aircraft for Italy and 100 for Brazil.
In the early stages of development, various different powerplants and engine configurations were studied to power the type; both twin-engine and single-engine approaches were considered. The use of US-sourced engines had been promptly discounted to avoid any potential restrictions on export sales of the overall aircraft. Amongst the engines examined were the Turbo-Union RB199 (as used by the larger Panavia Tornado), the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour, Rolls-Royce Viper, and the Rolls-Royce Spey engine. In 1978, the Spey 807 model, which featured several additional improvements, was selected to power the new aircraft.
Key features that were reportedly emphasised in the design process of the new aircraft were accessibility and survivability; the AMX had to be able to sustain a single failure to any onboard system without any performance degradation. To achieve this, key systems are duplicated and vital systems are protected; the use of cockpit armour was considered but ultimately discounted due to the expense involved. The detailed definition phase of the project was completed in March 1980.
A total of seven flight-capable prototypes were produced for the test program, three by Aeritalia, two by Aermacchi, and two by Embraer, as well as two static airframes. The first prototype, assembled in Italy, made its maiden flight on 15 May 1984. This first aircraft was lost on its fifth flight in an accident, resulting in the death of its pilot. Aside from this early loss, testing progressed smoothly and without further incident. The first Brazilian-assembled prototype made its first flight on 16 October 1985. On 11 May 1988, the first production aircraft performed its first flight. Deliveries of production aircraft to Italy began in 1988, the first examples were delivered to the Brazilian Air Force during the following year. On 14 March 1990, the prototype two-seat AMX made its first flight.
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