place of the originally intended Povazske Strojarne DV-2S powerplant. The first M-346 prototype rolled out on 7 June 2003, and conducted its maiden flight on 15 July 2004. In 2004, a contract for the development of a full-mission simulator for the M-346 was awarded to CAE. Further production contracts for CAE's full-mission simulator have since been issued. In January 2005, the Greek Ministry of Defence signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to become a partner in the programme, followed by an industrial cooperation agreement between Aermacchi and Hellenic Aerospace Industry in 2006. In March 2008, the Chilean ENAER signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alenia Aermacchi at the FIDAE air show. On 10 April 2008, the first Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP-00) aircraft, produced in the final configuration (new landing gear and air brake, more composite parts), was rolled out. On 18 December 2008, Aermacchi announced that the M-346 had attained a maximum speed of Mach 1.15 (1,255 km/h, 678 knots, 780 mph), claiming the occasion to be the first in which an all-Italian built aircraft had broken the sound barrier in 50 years. In May 2008, Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on the marketing, sales, training and support of two Aermacchi trainer aircraft, the M-346 and the M-311. On 20 June 2011, a Military Type Certification was granted to Alenia Aermacchi for the M-346 Master by the General Directorate for Aeronautical Armaments of the Italian Ministry of Defence in Rome. Throughout the certification process, the M-346 development aircraft made 180 test flights, totalling 200 flights across the course of the previous five months, during which over 3,300 test points were completed. In the advanced jet trainer role, the M-346 is unarmed; however, in November 2015, it was reported that Alenia Aermacchi was close to finalising a combat-capable dual-role variant of the airplane. In late 2017, a series of armed tests involving the AIM-9L missiles took place. In 2015, an armed variant, designated as the M-346 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft), was offered to Poland; this reportedly included a capability of operating the Brimstone air-to-ground missile. The armed variant is under development, designated M-346FA. The first pre-series aircraft has flown from Venegono airfield in July 2020. In February 2016, the newly created, consolidated Leonardo-Finmeccanica company promoted the Aermacchi M346 in two new roles: companion training and dissimilar air combat training. In order to better replicate the flight