Embraer Sells 6 A-29 Super Tucano

Embraer sells 6 A-29 Super Tucano

Embraer claims over 260 A-29s have been sold globally, “surpassing 550,000 flight hours, with 60,000 of those in combat.”

By AARON MEHTA

Image of a Super Tucano decked out with Paraguayan Air Force colors. (Embraer)

FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW — Brazilian defense firm Embraer has sold a half-dozen of its A-29 Super Tucano light attack planes to Paraguay, the company announced during this week’s Farnborough Airshow.

Aircraft deliveries are planned to start in 2025 and will come with mission equipment and logistics support agreements, according to a company release.

“We are honored by the Paraguayan Air Force (FAP) decision,” said Fabio Caparica, Commercial Vice President for Latin America at Embraer Defense & Security. “We are confident that the A-29 meets the current and future needs of the FAP.”

“Defense is a pure public good because it provides society with a service that contributes solely and exclusively to the stability of the nation as an essential element for an integrated development of a country. This has a positive impact not only on issues related to national sovereignty but also on all areas of development,” said Air General Júlio Rubén Fullaondo Céspedes, Commander of the Paraguayan Air Force, in the company release.

“To face emerging threats, we are in the process of modernizing our aerial and detection capabilities, and we intend to be up to the technological standards that allow us to correctly apply the measures established in the Law on Surveillance and Protection of Paraguayan Airspace [to] effectively contribute to the preservation of regional and international peace and security.”

Billed as a multi-mission aircraft, the A-29 is a turboprop that has been targeted primarily at smaller air forces globally. Until the emergence of the C-390 cargo plane, the A-29 was the biggest military aviation export for Embraer; while it has been eclipsed by the success of its larger cousin, the Super Tucano remains a key part of the Brazilian firm’s export strategy, and the company claims over 260 orders, “surpassing 550,000 flight hours, with 60,000 of those in combat.”