The Super Tucano turboprop, designed for light attack missions and military training, has been certified by the FAA, Embraer announced on Wednesday. The company said it will now plan a demo tour to U.S. military bases in an effort to win contracts for the aircraft. More than 150 of the airplanes are flying, and five countries use them in their armed forces. The U.S. military has lobbied Congress to send some of the Tucanos to Afghanistan, but so far funding has not been forthcoming.
One Super Tucano is in operation in the U.S., with Tactical Air Defense Services, a defense and aerospace contractor. The worldwide fleet has accumulated over 130,000 flight hours and more than 18,000 combat hours without a single loss, according to Embraer. The airplane can operate with one or two crew. It has more than four hours of endurance and can support more than 130 different weapons configurations.
