On Thursday, September 4, 2025, the Brazilian company Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) announced the signing of a contract with Panama’s Ministry of Public Security for the delivery of four A-29 Super Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft, along with a training and logistics package. The country’s authorities had announced their procurement plans in Brazil on March 12 of this year.
Image: Embraer
The aircraft will go to the National Aeronaval Service (Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, SENAN), where they will be used for patrol and observation missions (though in fact they will be Panama’s first-ever combat aircraft – ed. note). They will be complemented by two Airbus C295 medium transport aircraft, intended for humanitarian and transport missions as well as observation, reconnaissance, search and rescue, maritime security, and firefighting tasks.
“It is an honor for Embraer to see another Latin American country choose the A-29 Super Tucano to leverage its surveillance, reconnaissance and protection capabilities. Panama’s choice of the Super Tucano, a world leader in its category, will certainly serve as a strong ally to support the country in its mission to maintain national sovereignty,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security.
The March decision to select the A-29 and C295 followed analyses of various air platforms and responded to the need for appropriate assets to confront illegal activities such as drug trafficking and illegal fishing. The purchases are financed with external support (loans? – ed. note), amounting to more than USD 78 million for the A-29 and more than USD 109 million for the C295.
Both types will replace 14 currently operated aircraft dating back to the 1980s, whose annual operating costs have risen to around USD 10 million. SENAN currently operates two King Air 250/350 patrol aircraft, a single Beechcraft Baron, one De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, three C212 Aviocar, three Beechcraft Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, one King Air 100, two Piper PA-31 Navajo, and one Piper PA-34 Seneca. In the past, it also had a single CASA CN-235 transport aircraft, but it was sold.
Orders for the A-29 Super Tucano now exceed 290 units, which have accumulated more than 600,000 flight hours, including 60,000 in combat. Apart from Panama, current or future users include 22 countries, among them: 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, and Portugal (A-29N variant). In the past, Ukraine had also expressed interest in these aircraft.
NEWS | Panama signs contract for the acquisition of the Super Tucano as new platform for the National Air and Naval Service. Read full news: https://t.co/HzA9XhdsQw pic.twitter.com/OZ2jS4uXXf
— Embraer (@embraer) September 4, 2025