Uruguay placed an order for five Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos, the company announced on 14 January, exercising options placed in August 2024 alongside a firm order for a single aircraft. The deal also includes logistics support, mission equipment, and a flight simulator.
“The acquisition of the A-29 Super Tucano and the flight simulator will provide Uruguay with airspace defence capabilities and is part of the commitment assumed by the government to renew the material and equipment of our armed forces to fulfil their assigned missions,” Uruguayan Minister of National Defense Armando Castaingdebat said in the announcement.
Castaingdebat said in August 2024 that Super Tucano deliveries would run from 2025 through 2027.
The Super Tucanos are likely to replace Uruguay's small fleet of Cessna A-37B Dragonflies, a type flown in Uruguayan service since 1976 that is effectively obsolete.
Uruguay is set to become South America's sixth Super Tucano operator, according to Embraer. Its neighbour Brazil operates a large fleet of A-29s; other regional customers include Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia. Paraguay announced an order for six Super Tucanos in July 2024.
Embraer has announced a flurry of orders in recent months, including four for an undisclosed African customer and six to a country the company declined to identify. Portugal ordered 12 A-29Ns in July 2024, becoming the launch customer for a version of the aircraft with NATO-standard equipment.
Customers have purchased more than 290 of the counter-insurgency and training aircraft, which come equipped with two wing-mounted 12.7 mm (.50 calibre) machine guns and can drop both conventional and guided bombs.
For more information, please seeUruguayan Air Force acquires six Super Tucano aircraft.
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