Embraer on Wednesday announced the launch of an A-29 Super Tucano aircraft in NATO configuration, “with an initial focus on meeting the needs of nations in Europe.”
The announcement was made at the LAAD Defence & Security fair in Rio de Janeiro.
“The new version of the aircraft, the A-29N, will include equipment and features to fulfill NATO’s operational requirements, such as a new datalink and single-pilot operation,” Embraer said in a statement.
“These features will further increase the aircraft’s employment possibilities, allowing, for example, its use in JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) training missions. Training devices will also be upgraded to the world’s most demanding standards, including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality,” Embraer added.
Introduced in 2003, the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano was designed as a versatile light attack aircraft with low maintenance costs, suitable for training and counterinsurgency operations. Embraer has delivered more than 260 units, including to the U.S. Air Force.
The A-29 Super Tucano announcement comes shortly after the Brazilian planemaker signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen collaboration with Swedish manufacturer Saab. Both companies plan to sell C-390 Millennium military aircraft to the Swedish Air Force. They will also “collaborate on engineering and technical future fighter studies, thus consolidating the transfer of technology carried out by Saab for the Brazilian defense industry.”
Although Embraer is eyeing the European market with the updated Super Tucano, the Brazilian government is publicly opposed to sending weapons to Ukraine. At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Ambassador João Genésio Filho said Brazil strongly believes that the increasing flow of weapons into the conflict in Ukraine will only fuel more violence.
Brazil recently denied a request from Germany for anti-aircraft ammunition because the Germans wanted to transfer it to Ukraine. Brazil has also denied requests from Ukraine itself to purchase arms.
Yet, as The Brazilian Report revealed in November 2021, data shows that the country’s major weapons and munitions manufacturers are still selling arms to war zones and places with poor human rights records — and in astonishing quantities.
Brazil has sold hundreds of millions of dollars in arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which are involved in the ongoing civil war in Yemen.
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