Support & Smokes for Brazil’s Super Tucanos

The number of combat-capable Super Tucanos is about to shrink, however, as Brazil’s national “Esquadrilha da Fumaca” (“Smoke Squadron”) aerobatic team will get 12 of the FAB’s A-29s. They’ll replace the current “T-27″/ EMB-312 Tucanos with a larger, higher performance aircraft. Embraer received BRL 26.1 million ($13.2 million) guaranteed: a BRL 16 million contract to convert the Super Tucanos for aerobatics by stripping off unneeded weight and adding provisions for smoke pods, etc., plus a BRL 10.1 million service package. Another BRL 5.9 million ($3 million) could be added if the FAB picks up the option for ground support equipment and additional services. Embraer.

Update

August 8/19: Ukraine The Ukraine is reportedly evaluating the possibility of buying the Brazilian Embraer EMB-314 light attack aircraft. The Head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Col. Gen. Sergii Drozdov, was recently in Brazil, where he participated in a four-ship EMB-314 flight. The EMB-214 Super Tucano can be used for both the trainer role and as a light attack aircraft. While the aircraft would not be an effective deterrent against the Russian military, Ukraine may find the aircraft useful for patrolling separatist-controlled territory in its east. Infodefensa reported that aircraft could help the Ukrainian Air Force bridge gaps, given that available funding for new fighter jets is limited.

November 30/18: Nigeria Sierra Nevada Corp is being tapped to provide outside of continental US (OCONUS) contractor logistic support. Worth $329 million the undefinitized contract action will support 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft flown by the Nigerian Air Force. Included in the deal are ground training devices, mission planning systems, mission debrief systems, spares, ground support equipment, alternate mission equipment and FLIR systems for six aircraft. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $220 million are being obligated for this contract. The A-29s will assist the Nigerian military in conducting surveillance, reconnaissance and counter insurgency operations against threats such as piracy in the Niger Delta as well as the ongoing insurgency by the jihadists of Boko Haram.

September 6/18: Afghanistan The Afghan Air Force will see a massive boost to its counter-insurgency capabilities with the help of appropriated Afghanistan Security Forces funds. Sierra Nevada Corp is receiving a $1.8 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract that provides for the procurement of several A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. Designed to operate in high temperatures and in extremely rugged terrain, the A-29 is a highly maneuverable fourth-generation weapons system capable of delivering precision guided munitions. The aircraft is being used by the Afghan Air Force (AAF) for close-air attack, air interdiction, escort and armed reconnaissance. Afghanistan currently has 14 A-29s in its service. Work will be performed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, as well as at Kabul, Kandahar, and Mazari Sharif Air Bases in Afghanistan. The contract will run until December 2024.

July 16/18: Mali Jane’s reports that the Air Force of Mali is adding four light attack aircraft to its fleet. The African nation has purchased four Embraer EMB 314/A-29 Super Tucanos. The country had ordered a total of six aircraft in 2015, however after a series of financial issues the order was reduced to four. According to the company the Super Tucano is designed to carry a fighter’s typical array of weapons, either smart or conventional. Its armament line-up is fully integrated with its avionics system and comprises most advanced ordnance and sensors. The Super Tucanos delivered to Mali are armed with 12.7 mm machine guns and can carry 70 mm rocket pods and 300 lb. bombs. The government also indicated that it also acquired 20 mm cannon pods for the aircraft. With this delivery, Mali joins Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania as African operators of the Super Tucano.

July 5/18: Testing cancelled The US Air Force will prematurely end its A-29 Super Tucano experiment program. The US Air Force will not conclude the flying portion of its light-attack experiment after a June 22 aircraft crash resulted in the death of a pilot. Last month’s mishap involved the A-29 Super Tucano, made by Embraer and Sierrra Nevada Corp., that was being flown in a training mission over the Red Rio Bombing Range, which is part of the White Sands Missile Range north of Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Lt. Christopher Carey Short, a naval aviator, died in the accident while a second pilot was airlifted to the hospital with minor injuries. The suspension ends a flying evaluation of the Super Tucano and the Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine two weeks before a scheduled public demonstration. The Air Force plans to use data gathered from the experiment to decide whether to buy potentially hundreds of light attack aircraft. The hope is these fighters could be cheaper alternatives for certain missions to using aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-35.

June 11/18: European market next? Embraer is looking to introduce its EMB-314/A-29 Super Tucano light attack turboprop to the European market. Simon Johns, one of Embraer’s vice president said that the Super Tucano could provide European air arms with a lower-cost alternative to jets and helicopters for many of their missions. One potential customer could be Ukraine that currently lacks funding for a new multirole combat aircraft. The A-29 has five hardpoints for carrying weapons and is capable of carrying a maximum external load of 1,500kg. The Super Tucano is armed with two wing-mounted 12.7mm machine guns with a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds a minute and is capable of carrying general-purpose bombs and guided air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. The company is offering enhancements to the baseline aircraft, including the integration of anti-tank munitions as well as laser guided rockets. Pursuant to being equipped to perform these missions, the Super Tucano now has a radar warning receiver and missile approach warning system in development for an increased threat environment in the European theatre.

May 10/18: The Tucan has landed The Air Force is currently conducting flight tests at its Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The second phase of its light attack experiment take a closer look at Textron’s AT-6 and the A-29 Super Tucano manufactured by Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer. The flight tests will be conducted over the next three months and will take a closer look at associated logistics and some of the aircraft’s weapons integration capability, such as integrating precision guided weaponry. The pilots also hope to get a better understanding of how the Air Force can operate light attack aircraft in austere and high-paced combat environments. Officials hope that the acquisition of light attack aircraft will provide a cheaper alternative to more advanced fighter jets often tasked with low-end counterterrorism missions. Future steps are taken for establishing a common network architecture that will connect the aircraft to other US assets and with a wide array of US partners.

February 6/18: OA-X Demo 2: Textron AirLand’s self-funded Scorpion light-attack aircraft has been omitted from the next phase of the US Air Force’s (USAF) OA-X experiment, a blow to the joint venture’s five-year-old campaign to win the endorsement of the service. The two aircraft that have made it to the OA-X’s second phase are Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine and the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, which will face off again from May to July at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, rather than the original plan to host demonstrations in a combat zone. Speaking on the next phase, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said that rather than doing such a combat demonstration “we have decided to work closely with industry to experiment with maintenance, data networking and sensors.” The decision to forgo such a combat demonstration could also stem from the lack of finalized funding for an OA-X procurement, but this could change on February 12, when the Trump Administration is set to submit the Fiscal 2019 budget request to Congress.

December 29/17: FMS-Letter of Approval Nigeria has received letters of offer and acceptance from the US Ambassador to proceed with the purchase of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft. The sale had been previously put on hold by the Obama administration over human rights concerns following the bombing by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) of a refugee camp in January. The Nigerian government have until February 20, 2018 to accept the $593 million package—which includes 12 Super Tucanos alongside weapons, support services and hundreds of rockets and bombs—and it is expected that Pentagon and NAF officials will meet in early January to discuss the early delivery of the aircraft once payment has been made. Once delivered, the aircraft will assist the Nigerian military in conducting surveillance, reconnaissance and counter insurgency operations against threats such as piracy in the Niger Delta as well as the ongoing insurgency by the jihadists of Boko Haram.

December 1/17: Foreign Military Sale Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft has been selected by the Philippine Air Force (PAF), joining Indonesia as the second operator of the aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region. Six units will be delivered from 2019 and will perform several missions for Manilla including close air support, air-to-air intercept, light attack, COIN, and surveillance operations. The importance of close air support for the PAF was brought to the fore earlier this year during the government’s effort to oust Islamic State-supporting militants from city of Marawi, located on the southern island of Mindanao. Philippine assets used in the campaign included KAI’s FA-50 fighter, which delivered precision strikes against militants holed up in buildings.

November 02/17: Lebanon has received two A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft from the United States. The aircraft will be used for armed observational operations, according to a Lebanese military official. Four more Super Tucanos are expected to be delivered as Washington continues its support and financing of the Lebanese military despite claims by Israel that the military has been supplanted by Hezbollah—a Lebanese Shi‘ite Muslim paramilitary organisation backed by Iran and an ally of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during his country’s six year civil war. Despite these claims, US ambassador to Beirut Elizabeth Richard said the delivery marked a “significant increase in Lebanese Air Force combat capability that this aircraft represents will ensure that the LAF will remain a national unifying force, a bulwark against extremism and terrorism.”

October 18/17: Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer has announced the firm order for six of its A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. The unnamed customer will start to receive the light attack, surveillance, and advanced trainer planes from 2018, however, no further details of the sale were given. Marketed as a durable, versatile and powerful turboprop aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of missions, Super Tucanos have clocked over 320,000 flight hours and nearly 40,000 combat hours in during its ten years in service. In August, the aircraft faced off against three other competitors in a demonstration held for the US Air Force’s Light Attack Experiment (OA-X), with military officials from Canada, Australia, UAE, Paraguay, among others, in attendance. The USAF is hoping to combat test the aircraft in the Middle East, although no fixed date has been set.

October 12/17: The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has received delivery of the first two A-29 Super Tucano light attack and reconnaissance aircraft donated by the US. A total of six aircraft will be delivered, as part of a $462 million package that includes two spare engines, MX-15 electro-optical sensor systems, 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guidance kits for 70 mm rockets, eight AN/AAR-60(V)2 missile launch detection systems, and eight ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing systems to protect against ground-based air-defence systems, navigations systems, and support equipment and services. The A-29s will also be able to launch AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, as well as GBU-12 and GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, although these weapons were not included in the proposed package.

August 16/17: Following the completion of ongoing demonstrations as part of the USAF’s light attack aircraft experiment, potential aircraft may then face a combat demonstration in the Middle East. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told reporters last week that the aircraft—the A-29 Super Tucano from Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer, the AT-802L Longsword by L3 and Air Tractor, and the AT-6 Wolverine and Scorpion jet, both by Textron—could all face missions against militants from the Islamic State and other terrorist groups as part of the demonstration’s next phase. The ongoing flights at Holloman AFB in New Mexico have already has several top Air Force officials view the trials, as well as representatives from about a dozen international partner militaries, including members from Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Paraguay.

August 07/17: The US State Department has cleared Nigeria to proceed with the purchase of 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft in a deal estimated to be worth $593 million. Sierra Nevada Corporation of Colorado will act as lead contractor in the sale, and in conjunction with the aircraft, the company will provide weapons for the platform, as well as all associated training, spare parts, aviation and ground support equipment, and hangar, facilities, and infrastructure required to support the program. The aircraft will support Nigerian military operations against terrorist organizations Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, and Nigerian efforts to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. Sierra Nevada, in partnership with the A-29’s original manufacturer Embraer, have already sold the aircraft to the Lebanese and Afghan air forces, and the team is currently demonstrating it as part of a USAF experiment that could lead to a new USAF OA-X program of record.

June 7/17: Despite the protectionist rhetoric coming from the Trump administration, Embraer is still confident that it can continue to make strides in the US market despite its Brazilian heritage. The firm is currently preparing its A-29 Super Tucano with Sierra Nevada Corp. for the USAF’s upcoming light attack aircraft experiment, which could lead to a program of record for a long-delayed OA-X platform. However, President Donald Trump’s continued push of his “America First” policy could give a leg up to Embraer’s probable competition — the Wichita, Kansas-based Textron, which will fly its Scorpion jet and AT-6 turboprop plane in the demo. In response Gary Spulak, president of Embraer’s US subsidiary, said that $1.6 billion of the company’s $6.2 billion revenue had came from its US subsidiary, including ongoing production of 26 Super Tucanos for Afghanistan and Lebanon under a contract with the USAF.

May 16/17: Embraer has announced that it will enter its A-29 Super Tucano into the US Air Force’s upcoming OA-X experiment. The Brazilian manufacturer will team with Sierra Nevada Corporation for the July demonstration, which aims to test low-cost options for acquiring light attack aircraft for the service. Manufactured in Florida and in use by a dozen air forces worldwide, the A-29 is a durable, versatile and powerful turboprop aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of fighter and ISR missions. The USAF-certified A-29 is combat-proven, having seen combat in Afghanistan and in theaters around the globe.

March 22/17: Afghanistan’s Air Wing has taken delivery of four additional A-29 attack aircraft, bringing to twelve the amount in operation by the service. The latest batch arrived from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, where seven other Super Tucanos are currently assigned for training purposes. An anonymous pilot at the AAW said the extra air craft “will allow us to increase the number of missions we are able to support nationwide,” adding that “more targets can be attacked—more ground troops can be supported.”

February 13/17: Manufacturer Embraer has been granted permission from the Brazilian government to sell pre-owned A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria. The Nigerian Air Force said the light attack aircraft will boost their operational capabilities in tackling insurgents in the country such as Boko Haram. Three Super Tucano’s will be transferred between both nations’ airforces following the completion of legal procedures.

December 1/16: Defense officials from Bolivia are exploring the possibility of purchasing A-29 Super Tucanos from Brazil. The Embraer-made light attack aircraft will be used to clamp down on illegal activity, namely drug and mineral trafficking, along both nation’s 3,423 km shared border. According to Brazil’s defense ministry, Bolivian interest in the counter-insurgency plane was raised during a meeting to deepen bilateral relations.