On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, the second day of the annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference 2025 organized by the Air & Space Forces Association at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, an agreement was signed between Brazilian company Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) and U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) for the sale of a single A-29 Super Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft.
Photos: Embraer
The sale will proceed under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), subject to approval by the U.S. State Department and Congress, which has not yet been granted.
SNC’s investment in this aircraft enables the Brazilian company’s U.S. partner to immediately begin pilot training after the expected contract signing. It also shortens the time needed to achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by up to a year. The aircraft will be produced on Embraer’s production line in Jacksonville, Florida. Over the past decade, SNC and Embraer have jointly delivered nearly 50 of these multirole combat aircraft to air forces around the world.
“It is with great satisfaction that we see the A-29 made in the United States continuing its successful history. The Super Tucano offers unmatched light attack and multi-mission capabilities that are both effective and affordable to meet U.S. and Allied Force’s needs. At the same time, we are confident that our relationship with SNC, which extends for more than 10 years, will continue to expand given that an increased number of FMS customers are seeing a growing need for this sort of capability,” said Frederico Lemos, Chief Commercial Officer of Embraer Defense & Security.
“SNC is well known for investing early and often in programs we believe in to expedite progress and performance on behalf of the warfighter,” said SNC Senior Vice President of Strategy and Technology Ray Fitzgerald. “By proactively pursuing this aircraft we are happy to provide faster IOC and increased training time for the pilots who will soon fly this aircraft. We’ve long known the benefits of the A-29 Super Tucano and with increasing FMS demand worldwide, we’re proud to continue offering this outstanding aircraft to the US and its allies and we look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with Embraer.”
The A-29 Super Tucano is equipped with a precision target identification system, weapons systems, and a comprehensive communications suite. Its capabilities are further enhanced by advanced HMI avionics integrated into a robust airframe capable of operating from unpaved runways, in austere conditions, and without infrastructure. Moreover, the aircraft features a simple maintenance concept that ensures high levels of reliability, availability, and structural integrity at low life-cycle costs.
Orders for the A-29 Super Tucano exceed 290 aircraft, which have accumulated over 600,000 flight hours, including 60,000 in combat operations. To date, 22 countries operate or are set to operate the aircraft, including those disclosed: Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Colombia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, the United States, and more recently Uruguay, Paraguay, Portugal (A-29N variant for NATO European member states), and Panama. In the past, Ukraine had also expressed interest in the aircraft.
In recent years, the two companies delivered three A-29C Super Tucano aircraft to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Since July 18, 2024, they have been serving with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. On March 4 of this year, SNC won a contract valued at 13,081,102 USD to support the operation of these aircraft.
An A-29C Super Tucano belonging to AFSOC, currently operating in support of the USAF Test Pilot School
NEWS | Embraer, SNC (@SierraNevCorp) sign A-29 Super Tucano purchase agreement. Read full news: https://t.co/44bGpujJ8q pic.twitter.com/H6UtbHYO3r
— Embraer (@embraer) September 23, 2025
