The Italian company will announce the location of the manufacturing facility soon, DRS chief executive Bill Lynn told FlightGlobal in a 9 March interview. The T-100 will maintain the M-346’s two Honeywell F124 engines, which are manufactured in Arizona, and its CAE simulators will be built in Florida.

DRS will represent the American face of Leonardo, which did not select a separate US partner when it re-entered the competition. Boeing has teamed with the Sweden-based Saab, while Lockheed is partnering with Korea Aerospace Industries.