When you buy a front-line fighter, you also have to solve a quieter problem: how to train the pilots who will fly it. On 16 June 2026, Canada took a major step toward an answer — and the jet it chose is Italian.

On the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni formally launched negotiations for Canada to acquire Leonardo’s M-346 Master advanced jet trainer. Sources put the figure at around 30 aircraft — the machines that will teach the next generation of Royal Canadian Air Force pilots before they ever strap into a fighter.

A gap on the flight line since 2024

Canada has had a hole in its training pipeline. The RCAF retired its BAE Systems CT-155 Hawks in 2024 and has spent years hunting for a modern replacement under its Future Fighter Lead-In Training programme — the course that bridges a student pilot and a fast jet like the F-35 Canada is now buying.

The M-346 is built for exactly that job. It is a twin-engine advanced trainer that can mimic the handling and sensors of a modern fighter, letting students fly demanding missions on a cheaper, safer aircraft before moving up.

Why Italy had the inside track

Canada did not lack options — American and South Korean manufacturers pitched their own trainers. But Leonardo started with a quiet advantage: Canadian pilots and instructors already fly the M-346 at the International Flight Training School in Sardinia, where several NATO air forces send students. They know the cockpit, the flight model and the mission systems.

That familiarity, plus Ottawa’s stated “build-partner-buy” approach of teaming with trusted allies, made the Italian jet the natural front-runner. Choosing it also deepens defence-industrial ties between two NATO members at a moment when Europe and Canada are both rethinking how closely to bind their militaries together.

From talks to tarmac

Negotiations are not a signed contract, and numbers and timelines can still shift. But the political signal sent at the G7 is clear: Canada has picked its horse. If the deal closes, the distinctive twin-tailed Master will become the aircraft on which a generation of Canadian fighter pilots earns its wings.

Sources: FlightGlobal; Aviation Week; Breaking Defense; The Globe and Mail; The Defense Post.