Aermacchi MB - 339 The Aermacchi MB - 339 is an Italian military trainer and light attack aircraft . It was developed as a replacement for the earlier MB - 326 . Design and development . In September 1972 , Aermacchi was awarded a contract to study a replacement for the Italian Air Force ' s MB - 326s , comparing seven all - new designs ( given the designation MB - 338 ) powered by various engines with an improved version of the MB - 326 , designated the MB - 339 . The MB - 339 was considered to meet the Italian Air Forces requirements while being cheaper than the all - new designs which resulted in it being selected to replace both the MB - 326 and the Fiat G . 91T in Italian service . The MB - 339 is of conventional configuration and all - metal construction , and shares much of the 326 ' s airframe . It has a low , un - swept wing with tip tanks and jet intakes in the roots , tricycle undercarriage , and accommodation for the student and instructor in tandem . The most significant revision was a redesign of the forward fuselage to raise the instructor ' s seat to allow visibility over and past the student pilot ' s head . The aircraft was fitted with a larger fin and powerplant for the initial versions was the same Rolls - Royce Viper 632 - 43 , producing 4 , 000 lbf ( 17 . 8 kN ) , as fitted to the MB - 326 - K . The first flight took place on 12 August 1976 and deliveries to the Italian Air Force commenced in 1979 . Still in production in 2004 in an enhanced version with a much - modernised cockpit . Over 200 MB - 339s have been built , with roughly half of them going to the Italian Air Force . The Lockheed - Aermacchi MB - 339 T - Bird II was a losing contender in the USA ' s Joint Primary Aircraft Training System ( JPATS ) aircraft selection . Among the seven to enter , the Raytheon / Pilatus entry won , which became the T - 6 Texan II . According to an article posted on the Italian website ' Il Porto Franci ' , called ' Armi e finanziamenti nel corno d ' Africa ' , Eritrea paid about $ US 50 million for six MB - 339 CEs in 1997 . This is the original MB - 339 with more advanced avionics for the ground attack role , RWR , uprated Viper 680 - 43 engine , and larger wingtip tanks . It is capable of carrying Sidewinder AAMs , AGM - 65 Maverick AGMs , and laser - guided bomb s . Unit price of the MB - 339C would have to be somewhere around $ US 8 . 3 million dollars in 1997 . Operational history . Argentina . The Argentine Naval Aviation ( " " ) was the first foreign user of the forerunner MB - 326GB , buying eight in 1969 . In 1980 , " Comando de la Aviación Naval Argentina " ( CANA ) , or Argentine naval air command , ordered ten MB - 339As , advanced trainer and light attack aircraft . The MB339 were delivered in 1981 and were operated by the " III Escuadra Naval " ' s 1 " Escuadrilla de Ataque " . During the Falklands War , late in April 1982 , six of them were located at Port Stanley Airport , renamed " Base Aérea Militar " ( BAM ) Malvinas . They were the only attack jets to operate from the Falklands , along with four Beech T - 34 Mentor piston - engined armament trainer and light attack aircraft , and 24 turboprop FMA IA 58 Pucará light attack aircraft of " Grupo 3 de Ataque " . Other Aermacchis operated from three mainland bases , at Almirante Zar , Bahía Blanca and Río Grande , Tierra del Fuego naval air station . On 3 May 1982 Lt Benitez crashed into high ground with approaching the airport at Port Stanley , and was killed . On 21 May during a routine reconnaissance flight and flown by Lieutenant Owen Crippa , a MB - 339A was the first one to attack the Royal Navy amphibious force . The Aermacchi hit the frigate , causing light damage . On 27 May , a MB - 339A ( 4 - A - 114 ) was shot down by a Blowpipe missile during the Battle for Goose Green , while attempting to attack British ships and landed troops . The Pilot , " Teniente " ( Lt ) Miguel , was killed . Three MB - 339 airframes were captured by the British . One of these airframes is preserved at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum , Doncaster Eritrea . During tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia in the late 1990s , Eritrea started to rebuild its air force . In 1995 – 1996 , the Eritreans ordered six Aermacchi MB . 339FD strike fighters , with which the first combat unit of the ERAF was founded in 1997 . They have proved their worth as training aircraft and even during the early fighting in 1998 . Their initial deployment started on 5 June 1998 ( the same day in which the ETAF also started its operations ) . During the same afternoon , the Ethiopians reported two attacks of Eritrean MB . 339FDs on the city of Mekelle , the capital of Ethiopian province Tigray . Reportedly , as many as 44 civilians were killed and 135 injured . However , on 6 June one of the MB - 339s was shot down north of Mekelle . The pilot ejected and was rescued by a Mi - 8 of the ERAF ( although by another account , he was captured by local militia ) . The Eritrean Macchis were deployed again on the next day during the fighting around Erde Mattios . On the morning of 12 June 1998 , two Eritrean Mi - 8 appeared in low level over Addis Pharmaceutical works , in Adigrat , attempting to bomb it . Their weapons , however , fell a few yards from the plant and caused only minor damage . Only a couple of hours later , four MB . 339s rocketed and cluster - bombed against several targets in the city as well . According to Ethiopian sources four people died and 30 other were injured during those attacks . On 5 February 1999 the Ethiopian government claimed that two Eritrean MB . 339FDs attacked a fuel depot in Adigrat , some 48 kilometres inside the Ethiopian border , important for the supply of the Ethiopian army with fuel .