Embraer Targets NATO with Reconfigured Light Aircraft

Brazilian aircraft builder Embraer S.A. is introducing a version of its A-29 Super Tucano aircraft configured for NATO operators, initially for European defense forces. The new A-29N will include equipment and features attuned for NATO's operational requirements, including a new datalink functionality and single-pilot operation.

The Embraer A-29 is a turboprop aircraft armed with precision-guided munitions, integrated sensors, and surveillance systems. Its capabilities include light attack, aerial surveillance and interception, and counterinsurgency. It can be forward-deployed to operate from remote and unpaved runways, and it offers low operating costs and availability above 90%.

In addition to combat roles the aircraft is frequently used for training, offering an ability to simulate combat missions and to upload / download flight data.

Embraer foresees the NATO configuration expanding the applications for the A-29, and the aircraft’s training devices will be upgraded accordingly, including virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality functionality.

Embraer builds the A-29 at its manufacturing center in São José dos Campos, Brazil, though it also has an assembly line near Reno, Nev., in cooperation with Sierra Nevada Corp.

More than 260 A-29 aircraft have been delivered since the aircraft’s introduction in 2003, including to the U.S. Air Force and more than a dozen other air forces.

“This is a new stage in the operational life of the A-29 Super Tucano,” stated Embraer Defense president and CEO Bosco da Costa Junior. “We see many application possibilities for the A-29N at the moment. Several European countries have shown interest in specific aircraft capabilities that we have now introduced with this version.”