Embraer has begun production of the turboprop trainer/light attack Super Tucano, and says that the innovative aircraft will be available for delivery to the international market beginning in December 2003.
"We are proud to announce that the aircraft is now in production," says Eduardo Munhos Campos, Embraer director of international business.
The aircraft is tailored for counter-insurgency, operations support, and pilot training. It was designed to combat the insurgents, smugglers, terrorists, and guerrilla threats that plague many parts of the world, and it will also be marketed as an advanced pilot trainer.
It can be outfitted with a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities.
The company says it serves a niche that is not currently filled. "There is no other competition in the international market today," says Romualdo Barros, Embraer executive vice-president for defence marketing.
The Brazilian air force has placed 76 firm orders and 23 options for the Super Tucano. First deliveries are in December 2003. Embraer has not disclosed the price of the aircraft beyond saying it would be competitive.
Embraer says the low-cost Super Tucano was designed for the Brazilian Amazon, and is an effective fighter for intercepting small aircraft, patrolling borders, arresting smugglers, fighting guerrillas and kidnappers, and neutralising small-scale insurgencies. These characteristics make it suitable for other countries, in Asia and elsewhere, that have similar operational needs. Embraer did not specify its target markets, although it has already sold 10 of the aircraft to the Dominican Republic.
The Super Tucano has five external hard points that support a variety of weapons systems, and two internal points. Total ordnance payload is 1,550kg. It is the only turboprop aircraft that provides ballistic protection for pilots, and features a modern glass cockpit. Flying time is 6-7h, fully loaded, for the one-pilot version, which has more space for fuel than the two-pilot version. It can take off and land on unpaved airstrips carrying a full weapons capability, and is powered by a 1,600shp FADEC-controlled Pratt & Whitney PT6-68/3 turboprop engine.
Two Super Tucano prototypes have logged about 650h of flying time, and about 200-300h of flight testing remain. The company predicts a market for more than 500 of the aircraft over the next 10 years.
"We're getting good feedback," says Campos. "We see potential customers all over the world."
Source: Flight Daily News
