Aermacchi
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Italian military. With a factory located on the shores of Lake Varese, the firm originally manufactured a series of Nieuport designs, as well as seaplanes.
After the Second World War, the company began producing motorcycles as a way to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation.
The company later specialised in civil and military pilot training aircraft. In July 2003, Aermacchi was integrated into the Finmeccanica Group as Alenia Aermacchi, which increased its shareholding to 99%.
Military trainers
Since the beginning, the design and production of military trainers have been Alenia Aermacchi's core business.
The products include:
SF-260, piston-engined or turboprop-powered screener/primary trainer
MB-326, turbofan engined trainer and light attack aircraft