The Fouga Magister is a French, two-seat, twin-engined jet trainer of all-metal construction. its most distinctive structural feature is a V-type tail.

The Fouga prototype first flew on July, 23rd 1952. The aircraft was designed by R. Castello and P. Maubassin - hence the 'CM' of the type designation. The Fouga was one of the first European jet trainers to enter large scale serial production. Its production totaled over 900 aircraft between 1953 and 1958, of which considerable numbers were built under licence in West Germany, Israel and Finland. ln 1954 the type was recommended as a standard jet trainer for NATO countries. ln all, Fougas have seen service in the air forces of over 20 countries.

The Finnish Air Force used 80 Fougas from 1958 to 1988; of these 62 were manufactured under license by the Valmet company. The first aircraft arrived in Finland on l9th December 1958, and the Finnish-built aircrafts were completed between 1960 and 1967. The Fouga took the Air Force permanently into the era of modern flying. lt was easy to handle, and its comprehensive equipment improved standard of training considerably from the level of the fifties. lt was one of the Air Force's most successful acquisitions to date and remained in service 30 years, longer than any other aircraft type to date. lt was replaced by the British Aerospace Hawk.