1 photo

Documents

Fighter aircraft

Italy Legacy

Leonardo

AMX Ghibli

Single-engine light attack and reconnaissance jet jointly developed by Italy's Aermacchi/Aeritalia (now Leonardo) and Brazil's Embraer to replace the G91 and F-104. It served as the backbone of the Italian Air Force's ground-attack fleet before retirement in favor of the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35.

In service since 1989 · 2 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

903

km/h

1,852

km range

13,000

m ceiling

3,800

kg payload

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

Italian export-licensed

UAMA authorisation; standard EU/Wassenaar controls.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Limited · 2 operators

In service since 1989. Status: legacy · ~200 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

AIM-9 Sidewinder

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Compatible munitions & weapons

Publicly reported weapons the AMX Ghibli can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.

AIM-9 Sidewinder unguided bombs reconnaissance pods

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.: 903 km/h

Bottom 3% of fighters
Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 0.86 Mach

Bottom 1% of fighters
Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.: 1,852 km

Stronger than 12% of fighters
Service ceiling Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.: 13,000 m

Bottom 3% of fighters

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: 1× 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon (Italian variant)
Hardpoints External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.: 5

Bottom 1% of fighters
Weapons payload Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.: 3,800 kg

Stronger than 13% of fighters

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 13.23 m
Wingspan Wingtip-to-wingtip span.: 8.87 m
Height Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.: 4.55 m
Empty weight Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.: 6,700 kg
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.: 12,750 kg
Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.: 1

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Engine Powerplant model and type.: 1× Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 807 turbofan
Engines Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.: 1
Thrust Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).: 49 kN

Bottom 6% of fighters
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Turbofan

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.: 200

Stronger than 47% of fighters
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 2

Stronger than 50% of fighters

Specifications compiled from public Leonardo and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

Compare with rivals