fighters

The Syrian government says its forces have reasserted control over violence-hit neighbourhoods in Aleppo after dozens of fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) laid down their arms after days of intense fighting.

Syria’s Ministry of Interior spokesman, Nour al-Din al-Baba, said on Saturday that government forces had taken near-complete control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas, adding that operations were nearing their “final moments”.

“The Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood has almost been completely captured,” al-Baba told the Syrian News Channel.

Fighting flared up on Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid after Syrian forces and the SDF failed to implement a March 2025 agreement to reintegrate the Kurdish forces into state institutions.

Tensions spiked after the deadline for the deal passed at the end of last year, with the Kurdish fighters refusing to leave areas of Aleppo that have been under SDF control since the early days of the Syrian war, which erupted in 2011.

On Saturday, dozens of fighters surrendered and were taken on buses to SDF-controlled areas in the country’s northeast, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas reported from Aleppo.

“Compared with what we have seen over the last three days, it is quiet in Aleppo,” he said.

Calm was restored after a brief escalation earlier in the day, which saw a drone attack believed to have been launched by the SDF hit a governorate building during a news conference attended by several high-ranking Syrian officials.

Serdar Atas said Governor Azzam al-Gharib had been delivering a news briefing on the latest developments when the blast took place, blackening the upper floors of the building.

The SDF denied the reports, saying its fighters did not attack a civilian target.

In a statement carried by the SANA state news agency, Syria’s army said the Kurdish-led force fired more than 10 drones in Aleppo, causing numerous injuries and extensive property damage. It accused the group of using Iranian-made drones.

Serdar Atas said that Syrian forces were sweeping the city’s neighbourhoods for explosives and mines.

“However, the government says there are still some SDF factions that are fighting back and refusing to lay down their arms and surrender,” he said.

Reintegration stalled

The clashes in Aleppo – which the city’s Health Directorate said have killed 23 people, including civilians, and wounded 104 others – have marked the fiercest fighting since longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024.

They have also underscored the major challenges facing Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has pledged to unite the country following al-Assad’s removal.

Steven Heydemann, a professor of Middle East studies at Smith College in the United States, told Al Jazeera that the presence of SDF forces in Aleppo neighbourhoods had been a “source of friction” with the central government in Damascus.

Since the March 2025 integration deal was signed, Kurdish leaders have expressed concerns over security guarantees and political representation, while Damascus has pushed to reassert control over all remaining autonomous areas.

“Aleppo is Syria’s largest city, the linchpin of northwestern Syria’s commercial, political and industrial life,” Heydemann told Al Jazeera.

“So to have enclaves in Aleppo outside the control of the central government was always going to be very difficult for the government to swallow.”

On Friday, the Syrian Ministry of Defence gave Kurdish fighters a six-hour window to withdraw from Aleppo to their semi-autonomous region in the northeast of the country as part of a ceasefire.

But Kurdish councils that run the city’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts rejected any “surrender”.

Government forces then entered Sheikh Maqsoud on Saturday and carried out sweeps of the neighbourhood, confiscating weapons and detaining or disarming SDF fighters, according to Syrian officials.

Thousands displaced

Nearly 180,000 people have been displaced from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas due to this week’s fighting, with authorities warning them not to return due to ongoing operations and the risk posed by unexploded ordnance.

Meanwhile, both sides have continued to trade accusations of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, on Saturday urged “all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue” after a meeting with al-Sharaa and Minister of Foreign Affairs Asaad al-Shaibani.

Barrack added that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team was ready to facilitate engagement between the two sides to advance the integration process.

Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Ayman Oghanna said that Washington can “do the most” to boost talks between the Syrian government and the SDF.

“The US has enjoyed a strong relationship with the SDF for over a decade. The US helped build up and train the SDF, it fought alongside the SDF, and 1,000 US troops remain in SDF territory, where they work closely together in the effort to eradicate ISIL (ISIS) from Syria,” Oghanna said.

“But the US has also recently strengthened its ties with Damascus,” he added.

The United Nations also voiced alarm over the fighting, warning of the humanitarian consequences and calling on all sides to respect international law and ensure civilian protection.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Aleppo governor says the last fighters from the SDF have left the city after the Syrian army took control of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.

The last fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have left the city of Aleppo, according to officials, following a ceasefire deal that allowed evacuations after days of deadly clashes.

Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib told Al Jazeera early on Sunday that Aleppo has become “empty of SDF fighters” after government forces coordinated their withdrawal on buses out of the city overnight.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi (also known as Mazloum Kobani) said the group had reached an understanding through international ⁠mediation on a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of civilians and fighters.

“We have reached an understanding that leads to a ceasefire and securing the evacuation of the dead, the wounded, the stranded civilians and the fighters from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods to northern and eastern Syria,” he said in a post on X.

“We call on the mediators to adhere to their promises to stop the violations and work towards a safe return for the displaced to their homes,” he added.

The development came after the Syrian army took over the Kurdish-majority neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud following days of clashes that broke out when talks to integrate the SDF into the national army collapsed.

At least 30 people were killed in the clashes, while more than 150,000 were displaced.

More soon…

The Syrian army is locked in intense fighting in Aleppo after Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters refused to withdraw under a ceasefire, as more civilians fled their homes to escape the violence in the northern Syrian city.

Aleppo’s emergency chief Mohammed al-Rajab told Al Jazeera Arabic that 162,000 people have fled fighting in the city’s Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods.

A Syrian military source has told Al Jazeera Arabic that the army is “making progress” in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, the epicentre of the most intense fighting, and now controls 55 percent of the area.

Meanwhile, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said that the military had arrested several members of the SDF in its latest operations in Sheikh Maqsoud, which the army announced on Friday evening after a deadline for Kurdish fighters to evacuate the area, imposed as part of its temporary ceasefire, expired.

Syria’s Ministry of Defence had declared the ceasefire earlier on Friday, following three days of clashes that erupted after the central government and the SDF failed to implement a deal to fold the latter into the state apparatus.

After some of the fiercest fighting seen since last year’s toppling of Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, Damascus presented Kurdish fighters a six-hour window to withdraw to their semi-autonomous region in the northeast of the country in a bid to end their longstanding control over parts of Aleppo.

But Kurdish councils that run the city’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts rejected any “surrender” and pledged to defend areas that they have run since the early days of the Syria’s war, which erupted in 2011.

Syria’s army then warned it would renew strikes on Sheikh Maqsoud and urged residents to evacuate through a humanitarian corridor, publishing five maps highlighting targets, with strikes beginning roughly two hours later.

As violence flared, the SDF posted footage on X showing what it said was the aftermath of artillery and drone attacks on Khaled Fajr Hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud, accusing “factions and militias affiliated with the Damascus government” of “a clear war crime”.

A Defence Ministry statement cited by the state-run news agency SANA said the hospital was a weapons depot.

In another post on X, the SDF said that government militias were attempting to advance on the neighbourhood with tanks, encountering “fierce and ongoing resistance by our forces”.

Later, the Syrian army said three of its soldiers had been killed and 12 injured in SDF attacks on its positions in Aleppo.

It also claimed that Kurdish fighters in the neighbourhood had killed more than 10 Kurdish youths who refused to take up arms with them, then burned their bodies to intimidate other residents.

The SDF said on X that the claims were part of the Syrian government’s “policy of lies and disinformation”.

At least 22 people have been killed and 173 others wounded in Aleppo since the fighting broke out on Tuesday, the worst violence in the city since Syria’s new authorities took power after toppling Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

The director of Syria’s civil defence told state media that 159,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Aleppo.

Mutual distrust

The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria, with powerful Kurdish forces that control swaths of Syria’s oil-rich northeast resisting integration efforts by Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government.

The agreement between the SDF and Damascus was struck in March last year, with the former supposed to integrate with the Syrian Defence Ministry by the end of 2025, ​but Syrian authorities say there has been little progress since.

Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF, despite the group’s assertion that it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighbourhoods in the hands of the Kurdish Asayish police.

Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst with Al Jazeera, said there were significant gaps between the two sides, particularly when it came to integrating the Kurdish fighters into the army as individuals or groups.

“What would you do with the thousands of female fighters that are now part and parcel, of the Kurdish forces? Would they join the Syrian army? How would that work out?” said Bishara.

“The Kurdish are sceptical of the army and how it is formed in Damascus, and of the central government and its intentions. While … the central government is, of course, wary of and sceptical that the Kurds want to join as Syrians in a strong united country,” he added.

Turkiye refrains from military action

In the midst of the clashes, Syria’s President al-Sharaa spoke by phone with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying he was determined to “end the illegal armed presence” in Aleppo, according to a Syrian presidency statement.

Turkiye, which shares a 900-kilometre (550-mile) border with Syria, views the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which waged a four-decade armed struggle against the Turkish state, and has warned of military action if the integration agreement is not honoured.

Turkiye’s Defence Minister Yasar Guler welcomed the Syrian government operation, saying that “we view Syria’s security as our own security and … we support Syria’s fight against terrorist organisations”.

Omer Ozkizilcik, nonresident senior fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera that Turkiye had been intending to launch an operation against SDF forces in Syria months ago, but had refrained at the request of the Syrian government.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in Syria’s northeast, accused Syria’s authorities of “choosing the path of war” by attacking Kurdish districts in Aleppo and of trying to end deals between the two sides.

Alarm spreads

Al-Sharaa spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, affirming that the Kurds were “a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric”, the Syrian presidency said.

The former al-Qaeda commander has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities, but government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze over the last year, spreading alarm in minority communities.

A spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “grave concern” over the ongoing violence in Aleppo, despite efforts to de-escalate the situation.

“We call on all parties in Syria to show flexibility and return to negotiations to ensure the full implementation of the March 10 agreement,” said Stephane Dujarric.

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was working with the United States, which has long been a key backer of the SDF, particularly during its fight to oust ISIL (ISIS) from Syria, to de-escalate.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged al-Sharaa on Thursday to “exercise restraint”, reiterating his country’s desire to see “a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected”.

At least six suspected ISIL fighters and three Turkish police officers were killed in a shootout after police raided a home in northwestern Turkiye. It was part of a massive security sweep across several Turkish provinces targeting alleged hiding spots for ISIL operatives.

A shootout ensues after police raid a home in northwestern Yalova province, local media reports say.

Seven Turkish police officers have been wounded in a shootout during an operation against alleged ISIL (ISIS) fighters, local media report.

Broadcaster TRT Haber reported that police carried out a raid at a home in Yalova province’s Elmalik village, located south of Istanbul, when fire was exchanged on Sunday.

The officers were not seriously injured, the broadcaster reported. It was not immediately clear whether any suspects were wounded or arrested.

Special forces from nearby Bursa province joined the operation to provide support, including enacting ongoing security measures in the area.

Locals and vehicles were not allowed into the area surrounding the targeted home, the broadcaster said, while the Yalova governorate also suspended classes at five nearby schools.

On Thursday, Turkish authorities said they had conducted raids on 124 locations and apprehended 115 ISIL suspects.

Police had received intelligence that operatives were “planning attacks in Turkiye against non-Muslims in particular” during the holiday period, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.

The United States military also carried out extensive strikes against ISIL in neighbouring central and northeastern Syria earlier this month, hitting more than 70 targets. The strikes came a week after two US soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an attack in the Syrian city of Palmyra.

Turkiye, which shares a border with Syria, has expanded its efforts against ISIL in recent years. Turkish authorities say some ISIL operatives relocated to the country in 2019 after the group was vanquished in the parts of Iraq and Syria it then controlled.

Previous raids in March had led to the capture of nearly 300 suspected ISIL members across 47 provinces over two weeks.

Between 2013 and 2023, authorities arrested more than 19,000 people for suspected affiliations with the group, according to the Turkish presidency.

Two Russian Su-30 Flanker multirole fighters have been damaged in an overnight arson attack on the military airfield at Lipetsk in the region of the same name in southwest Russia. According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), the raid was launched by “a representative of the resistance movement in Russia.” If that’s the case, it underscores the varied tactics being used to strike Russian military aircraft on their bases, coming soon after two separate drone attacks on Belbek Air Base in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Уражено ворожі винищувачі Су-30 та Су-27 ― відео та деталі унікальної операції ГУР в ліпєцку

In its initial statement, the GUR said that a Russian Su-30 Flanker multirole fighter and a Su-27 Flanker interceptor were damaged in a fire at Lipetsk Air Base (also known as Lipetsk-2) on the night of December 20-21. The agency later clarified that both targeted aircraft two-seat, more advanced Su-30s.

While the GUR claims that is masterminded the operation, which required two weeks of planning, the agency also says that the sabotage was “directly implemented by a representative of the resistance movement to the criminal Russian regime.”

In a statement, the GUR explained: “Studying the patrol route and guard change schedule allowed them to infiltrate the aggressor state’s military facility unnoticed, hit the Russian jets in their protective aircraft hangar, and then leave the airfield unhindered.”

The GUR has released a video that purports to show the attack, which it describes as the result of “careful preparation, composure, and professionalism.” The airbase is located around 200 miles from the Ukrainian border.

The footage includes a view inside the cockpit of an apparent Su-30SM, as well as a fire being started at one of the main undercarriage legs of the same type of jet, which then spreads to engulf one of the engine intakes. One Su-30SM is also armed with underwing air-to-air missiles. Clearly visible is one of the canard foreplanes on the Flanker, confirming it is a Su-30SM, rather than a Su-27UB or a Su-30M2.

Also seen in the video are close-ups of the aircraft’s individual red-painted ‘Bort’ numbers, ‘12’ and ‘82.’

The GUR puts the estimated total cost of the two affected fighters as “up to $100 million,” although this is presumably based on them being totally written off, something which remains unclear. Indeed, the agency only states that the jets were “disabled.” Ukrainian media reports also state that the aircraft were “put out of action,” but once again we don’t have any concrete evidence about their current state.

Lipetsk Air Base has a very significant role within the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS).

The 4th State Air Personnel Preparation and Military Evaluation Center at the base is tasked with conducting military evaluation of initial batches of new tactical combat aircraft, training pilots in the combat application of the aircraft, and developing air force tactics, which are then used by operational units.

At Lipetsk, the 4th Center is responsible for the 968th Research Instructor Composite Aviation Regiment (968 IISAP, in Russian), which receives the first batches of new tactical aircraft. The regiment was first to receive the Su-34 Fullback, in 2010, the Yak-130 Mitten, in 2013, the Su-30SM Flanker, in 2014, and the Su-35S Flanker, in 2019. It was to also the first to receive Su-57 Felon fighters, so that pilots could undergo theoretical training on the new type.

The regiment has squadrons of Sukhoi fighters (Su-27, Su-30SM, and Su-35S), tactical bombers (Su-24 Fencer and Su-34) and attack aircraft (Su-25 Frogfoot), as well as a detachment of An-26 Curl transport aircraft.

Lipetsk Air Base has two runways; the main runway is around 9,800 feet long, while the second, shorter runway has long been unused and is used for storage of several dozen MiG-29 Fulcrums, and smaller numbers of MiG-31 Foxhounds, and Su-27s.

The video evidence available suggests that at least the Su-30SM that was targeted was very much an active aircraft, based on its armament as well as its relative modernity.

There is also a strong suggestion that the aircraft targeted were part of the VKS effort to combat Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones, including those headed toward Moscow.

Su-30SMs ‘Red 82’ and ‘Red 12’ belong to the 14th and 31st Fighter Aviation Regiments, not normally based at Lipetsk. The presence of these jets at the base, at least one of them armed with air-to-air missiles, would be consistent with a forward deployment for quick reaction alert (QRA) duties.

This would not be the first time that a Russian airbase has been targeted by pro-Ukrainian or Ukrainian saboteurs.

In the aftermath of reported explosions at Russian airbases in occupied Crimea, in the summer of 2022 — most dramatically, the blasts at Saki Air Base that left at least 10 jets seriously damaged or destroyed — there were reports citing Ukrainian officials claiming that a team, possibly made up of Ukrainian special operations forces, local partisans, or a mixture of both, had attacked the installations.

In October 2022, we reported on an apparent sabotage raid against a Russian airbase in the Pskov region, in the far west of the country. This was filmed by the operatives before they detonated explosives placed on attack helicopters at Ostrov Air Base. The explosions destroyed two Ka-52s and one Mi-28N, according to the Ukrainian defense intelligence service.

In May 2023, meanwhile, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed a sabotage attack against a Russian strike or reconnaissance aircraft at an aircraft factory in Siberia. This was reportedly an arson attack, although it’s unclear if the aircraft in question was actually airworthy at the time.

In September 2023, there were reports that one of Russia’s most important airbases, Chkalovsky, located less than 20 miles from Moscow, was struck by saboteurs. In a statement on the raid, the GUR said that “unidentified saboteurs” were responsible for the attack on what it described as a “heavily guarded airfield,” which left three aircraft “badly damaged.”

As we have noted in the past, the ability of saboteurs to penetrate frontline Russian airbases clearly points to major security loopholes.

On the other hand, even Russian airbases housing other strategic assets have been subject to incursions in the recent past, by apparent criminal elements, while other airfields have been penetrated by drunken soldiers in command of an armored vehicle, for example.

What remains far less clear, and something we are unlikely to learn more about for the foreseeable future, is how the Ukrainian military and intelligence services work or at least coordinate with partisans in Russia. We do know that Ukraine conducts extensive activities, including sabotage efforts, in areas of the country that Russia occupies, as well as inside Russia proper. Most prominent was this summer’s Operation Spiderweb, the large-scale Ukrainian drone strike against airbases across Russia yesterday, which you can read about in our coverage here. This used more than a hundred short-range drones that were launched from trucks against at least four bomber airfields.

In recent days, there have been other notable attacks on VKS aircraft by Ukrainian using drones, too.

As we reported last week, Belbek Air Base, a key Russian facility in occupied Crimea, was targeted by a Ukrainian drone strike on December 18, according to Ukraine. Authorities in Kyiv claim that drones hit a MiG-31BM, as well as elements of an S-400 air defense system.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the government’s main internal security agency, reported that the Belbek drone strike was carried out overnight by forces from its Special Group “Alpha.”

Just two days later, “Alpha” was reportedly responsible for another drone strike on Belbek. This time, the SBU said its operatives hit two Su-27s. Like the MiG-31, these were also parked out in the open.

Whatever the results of the apparent partisan raid on Lipetsk, the operation once again highlights the fact that Russian military aircraft and other assets are not safe, even if relatively far from the Ukrainian battlefields, and that drones are by no means the only threat they face,

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Austria is buying 12 M-346F Block 20 light combat aircraft from Italian defense contractor Leonardo, as part of an overhaul of its air force, the Luftstreitkräfte. Austria does already operate 15 Eurofighter Typhoons, which were procured under controversial circumstances. Those jets have notably limited capabilities compared to other Typhoons, as well as high operating costs, which have prompted attempts to offload them.

Leonardo announced the Austrian contract today. As well as the dozen M-346s, the deal includes simulation systems for pilots, training for maintenance technicians, spare parts and equipment, plus logistical support for six years. The total cost is around $1.7 billion, and the first aircraft is due to be delivered in 2028.

According to Leonardo, the Austrian Air Force will use the M-346Fs for the “defense needs of Austria’s national airspace and territory,” as well as for training.

M-346FA

The two-seat M-346 was originally developed as an advanced jet trainer, but light combat versions have long been offered for sale. Block 20 standard variants are notably well-equipped for aircraft of their size and weight. They come with a pair of large-area displays (LAD) in each cockpit, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a Link 16 datalink, and electronic countermeasures. The jets are capable of being configured to employ various air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons options, but can also be operated as pure trainers.

In the trainer role, the M-346Fs will serve as a successor to the Austrian Air Force’s Saab 105 jets, which were retired in 2020, and are seen in the video below.

Action: Saab 105 im Flug

The M-346 has been developed by Leonardo as part of an integrated advanced flight training system. Beyond the jets themselves, this includes a ground-based training system (GBTS), which is based around the live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) concept. In this way, simulated elements and scenarios can be combined with real-life training flights.

Austria is already familiar with the M-346 as its pilots already train on it at the International Flight Training School (IFTS), which Leonardo and the Italian Air Force operate together in Decimomannu, Italy.

IFTS – International Flight Training School

According to Leonardo, the complete training system for Austria will include capabilities related to air-to-surface missions. This would be a new development for the Austrian Air Force, which is currently optimized for air defense.

It will also allow pilots to train for aerial refueling, something else that hasn’t previously been featured in the Alpine air arm’s operations. It is worth noting here that the Luftstreitkräfte does not currently operate any tankers itself.

Most notably, however, as well as advanced training, Austria will fly the M-346 in the “dual role of fighter for lower-intensity operations,” according to Leonardo.

Imagery related to the M-346F Block 20 released to date includes pictures of a demonstrator aircraft armed with wingtip AIM-9L/M Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. It has also been seen loaded with laser-guided bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Reportedly, Austria will integrate the IRIS-T infrared-guided air-to-air missile (already used on its Typhoons), 20mm gun pods, and LAU-32 seven-round rocket launchers for its M-346s, as well as Israeli-made electronic countermeasures pods.

While the now-retired Saab 105s had a limited air-policing role, the M-346F’s capabilities mean that certain, more expansive operational missions could be ‘downloaded’ from the expensive Typhoon and onto the smaller and more economical jet.

Nonetheless, this would still be a significant augmentation for the Typhoon force, not least because Austria is a small country and the M-346F would be capable of responding to most routine threats, especially thanks to its AESA radar.

Furthermore, the Austrian Typhoons have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile armament, so the M-346Fs wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in terms of weaponry, either.

In fact, an argument could be made for Austria having ordered the M-346F, or a similar light combat aircraft, rather than the Typhoon in the first place.

The Typhoon acquisition was far from straightforward. Austria selected the Eurofighter design over the Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen in 2002, but only finished paying off the €2 billion ($2.3 billion at the rate of conversion at the time of writing) purchase costs for the 15 single-seat jets (an order that was also reduced from a planned 18 aircraft) in 2014. The deal was also overshadowed by accusations of deception, fraud, and bribery, including a high-level lawsuit filed by the defense ministry against Airbus and Eurofighter.

Overall, the Austrian Ministry of Defense has been far from happy with the Typhoon. It has called into question the jet’s operating costs and lack of certain critical capabilities — including the PIRATE infrared sensor, a helmet-mounted display, and the EuroDASS self-defense suite. As mentioned above, the Austrian jets have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and lack any air-to-ground capability.

Österreichs Luftstreitkräfte – Luftraumüberwachung

As long ago as 2017, Austria outlined plans to phase out the Typhoons by 2023, arguing that it would be cheaper than upgrading them. Since these are the baseline Tranche 1 jets, equipped to the most basic standard, it is far harder to modernize them. At this time, it was envisaged that they would be replaced by 18 new fighters, which would also supersede the Saab 105s.

More recently, efforts were made to try to sell the Typhoons to Indonesia, as you can read about here.

Somewhat ironically, back in 2020, Austria’s Green Party called for the replacement of both the Typhoon and the Saab 105 with the M-346.

As TWZ noted at the time, “Austrian Typhoon pilots already train on the M-346 in Italy, and in many ways it would seem to make an ideal replacement for the two-seat Saab. However, it lacks the raw performance and sophisticated avionics of a modern fighter jet, which would render it less suitable for the air policing role now undertaken by the Typhoon.”

However, the M-346F Block 20 is a much more capable proposition in terms of avionics, although it remains subsonic.

As a non-aligned nation, Austria can’t rely on NATO support to defend its airspace, so having additional, more economical light combat aircraft to help do this job will be welcome.

The M-346 also has the benefit of an established user base and supply chains to go along with it. As a trainer, existing M-346 customers include Greece, Italy, Israel, Poland, Qatar, and Singapore. The Italian Air Force has also selected it as the future aircraft for its aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori.

Leonardo, as part of a team-up with Textron in the United States, has also been offering a navalized M-346N version to the U.S. Navy as a possible replacement for that service’s T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. You can read more about the M-346N, which was rebranded as a Beechcraft product earlier this year, here. Beechcraft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron.

M-346 Jet Trainer Walk-Around Tour With Its Test Pilot.

The only country known to have already introduced a light combat aircraft version of the M-346 is Turkmenistan, which reportedly acquired just four M-346FA (Fighter Attack) versions, as well as two trainers. It’s unclear exactly what kinds of weapons the country’s jets carry.

However, Nigeria now looks to be lining up to buy the M-346FA, as well, with a potential deal for as many as 24 of the jets reportedly on the cards.

Buying the M-346 also further cements the Austrian Ministry of Defense’s own relationship with Leonardo, from which it previously acquired 36 AW169M Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) under two contracts signed in 2022 and 2023.

The Austrian order and the possibility of a larger sale to Nigeria are good news for Leonardo, which is continuing to evolve the M-346 from an advanced jet trainer into an ever more versatile multirole light combat aircraft.

The overall market space for light fighters based on advanced jet trainers is steadily growing globally, too. Korea Aerospace Industries has seen particular success with its FA-50 version of its T-50 trainer. The possibility of Boeing developing a light fighter based on its T-7 Redhawk for the U.S. Air Force has also come up in the past.

On the other hand, the Austrian Air Force remains stuck with the Typhoon, something of a costly white elephant when it’s considered that its primary mission is peacetime air policing over neutral airspace. Ultimately, perhaps, the Typhoon might be retired without a direct replacement, leaving the future M-346Fs to take on all frontline fighter roles.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Dec. 16 (UPI) — The two suspects in the deadly mass terror attack in Bondi Beach in Sydney over the weekend spent most of November in the southern Philippines, where they allegedly received military-style training from Islamic militants.

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration told ABC News on Tuesday that the father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, arrived in the Philippines from Australia on Nov. 1, giving Davao on the southern island of Mindanao as their destination.

“They left the country on Nov. 28, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination,” said Immigration Bureau spokesperson Dana Sandoval.

Australian national security officials said investigators were now looking at the duo’s links to an international jihadist network after a senior counterterrorism officer said the pair underwent terrorist training on the island.

The development came hours after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared that the pair were motivated by “Islamic State ideology” after the discovery by police of flags of the jihadist group and improvised explosive devices in the suspects’ car.

Philippine and Australian officials said they were working together to establish exact details of where the pair stayed and their movements with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Philippine counterpart Maria Theresa Lazaro vowing to “keep each other closely informed” of progress in the investigation into Sunday’s attack targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah.

“The Philippines stands firmly in solidarity with Australia and underscores strong Philippine-Australia cooperation in security and law enforcement matters. We reaffirm our support for efforts that protect communities from intolerance, hatred, and violence,” said Lazaro.

The largely Muslim region of the predominantly Catholic country has been a base for Islamic militants for decades after terror camps relocated there from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the 1990s, with the Philippine military at war with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front before that.

In 2017, ISIS fighters laid siege to the city of Marawi in Mindanao for five months, prompting the central government in Manila to launch an all-out military offensive to regain control.

A New South Wales health department spokesman said 22 people were still being treated for their injuries in the hospital, nine of whom were in a critical condition following the shooting attack in which 15 people were killed.

The victims included children, survivors of the Holocaust and two rabbis.

Authorities said Akram Naveed, who was shot and wounded by police, had regained consciousness in the hospital. The elder Akram was shot dead by police at the scene.