If everything goes well, which it seldom does, the Super Tucano will soon be one of the most exciting new aircraft bought by the US Air Force (USAF).
The USAF is planning to buy initially twenty Super Tucanos to fulfill the Light Air Support (LAS) requirement.
Unlike the other robotic planes the USAF is buying or developing, like the F-35, the propeller-driven Super Tucano is reminiscent of the legendary P-51. The planes will be used in counter-insurgency operations — fighting armed rebels and terrorists — in countries like Afghanistan. The twenty Super Tucanos are in fact meant to be transferred to the Afghan Air Force.
Insurgents generally do not have sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons. When the threat of anti-aircraft fire is minimal, a propeller-driven aircraft like the Super Tucano is cheaper to use than a high performance jet like the F-16. The economical turboprop engine allows the aircraft to loiter over an area longer to provide support to soldiers on the ground. Its relatively slow speed also helps the pilot to see the ground better and target weapons more accurately without the use of sophisticated targeting systems.
The Super Tucano is produced by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. However, for the USAF contract the planes will be built in Nevada and Florida in the United States. Armed Super Tucanos are already flown by the air forces of countries like Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. In the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia has also ordered sixteen aircraft, due to be delivered soon.
__________
CREDIT: All pictures from Embraer.
The USAF is planning to buy initially twenty Super Tucanos to fulfill the Light Air Support (LAS) requirement.
This is a non-developmental aircraft procured for conducting advanced flight training, surveillance, air interdiction, and close air support.
The LAS aircraft is a single-engine turboprop fixed-wing aircraft with tricycle, retractable landing gear, and tandem two-place pressurized cockpit with ejection seats, capable of operating from semi-prepared air fields.
US Department of Defense
Unlike the other robotic planes the USAF is buying or developing, like the F-35, the propeller-driven Super Tucano is reminiscent of the legendary P-51. The planes will be used in counter-insurgency operations — fighting armed rebels and terrorists — in countries like Afghanistan. The twenty Super Tucanos are in fact meant to be transferred to the Afghan Air Force.
Insurgents generally do not have sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons. When the threat of anti-aircraft fire is minimal, a propeller-driven aircraft like the Super Tucano is cheaper to use than a high performance jet like the F-16. The economical turboprop engine allows the aircraft to loiter over an area longer to provide support to soldiers on the ground. Its relatively slow speed also helps the pilot to see the ground better and target weapons more accurately without the use of sophisticated targeting systems.
The Super Tucano is produced by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. However, for the USAF contract the planes will be built in Nevada and Florida in the United States. Armed Super Tucanos are already flown by the air forces of countries like Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. In the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia has also ordered sixteen aircraft, due to be delivered soon.
__________
CREDIT: All pictures from Embraer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment