Embraer Super Tucanos To Aid US Afghan Withdrawal

The U.S Air Force has awarded Embraer a contract worth $427 million for the supply of 20 AT-29 Super Tucano aircraft after a long-winded competition with Hawker Beechcraft Corp.

Under this contract, 20 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to operational air bases in Afghanistan beginning in the summer of 2014 to conduct advanced flight training, surveillance, close air support and air interdiction missions.

U.S armed forces are expected to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014, leaving the Afghan military to continue the fight against Taliban rebels.

“The A-29 Super Tucano with its proven track record is exactly what's needed,” said Taco Gilbert, a vice-president of Embraer's US partner in the contract, the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)

The propeller-driven Super Tucano comes in single and two-seated versions that can be equipped with a machinegun and a variety of bombs and missiles, in a ground attack or reconnaissance role.

Embraer and Sierra Nevada were initially awarded a 355 million dollars contract for the planes in December 2011, but the US Air Force called off the deal two months later after a legal challenge from rival Hawker Beechcraft.