On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, the press service of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (FAU) announced on social media the delivery of the first two of six Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light turboprop attack aircraft ordered from Brazil.
Photo: Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya via X
The aircraft arrived at the 2nd (Fighter) Air Squadron of the II Air Brigade, stationed at 2nd Lt. Mario W. Parrallada Air Base, located at Santa Bernardina International Airport (SUDU) in Durazno, in central Uruguay.
Before the aircraft could be delivered, however, reports in October of last year indicated that airfield infrastructure was being adapted to accommodate the new military equipment.
🛬 La Base Aérea de Durazno prepara su infraestructura para recibir a principios de 2026 los dos primeros aviones Súper Tucano, de un total de seis que fueron comprados por el Ministerio de Defensa a Brasil. pic.twitter.com/k6saf3aDxT
— Noticias 5 (@5noticiasuy) October 20, 2025
On August 26, 2024, Uruguay’s Ministry of Defense and the Brazilian company Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) signed a contract for the delivery of one aircraft, with an option for five additional units, under the fleet modernization program of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya. The option was subsequently exercised on January 14, 2025. The agreement also included mission equipment, integrated logistics support, and a flight simulator.
The new aircraft are intended to replace six Cessna A-37B Dragonfly light attack aircraft, which have been in service since 1976 and are the oldest combat aircraft currently operating in Latin America.
The Embraer 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 systems integrated into a robust airframe capable of operating from unpaved runways, in austere conditions, and without supporting infrastructure. Moreover, the aircraft features a simplified maintenance concept that ensures high levels of reliability, availability, and structural integrity while maintaining low life-cycle costs.
Orders for the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano exceed 290 aircraft, which have accumulated more than 600,000 flight hours, including 60,000 in combat operations. The aircraft is currently operated, or will soon be operated, by 22 countries. In addition to Uruguay, disclosed users include Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Colombia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. More recently, Paraguay, Portugal (which selected the A-29N variant for European NATO member states), and Panama have also joined the list. In the past, Ukraine expressed interest in the aircraft, and Poland is currently considering it in the context of counter-drone operations (Embraer A-29 Super Tucano for Sierra Nevada Corporation).
