Saturday, January 10, 2009

Dominican Republic Buys 8 Super Tucanos

Dominican Republic Buys 8 Super Tucanos
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON - January 10, 2009: Embraer has confirmed the sale of eight Super Tucanos to the Dominican Republic in a deal that was finalized at the end of 2008, the Brazilian plane maker announced Jan. 9. The turpoprop-powered aircraft is to be used by the Dominican Air Force for internal security and border patrol missions, primarily in the fight against drug traffickers. The Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, also named ALX or A-29 is a turboprop aircraft designed for light attack, counter insurgency (COIN) and pilot training missions, incorporating modern avionics and weapons systems. It is currently in use by the air forces of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Embraer has plans to sell it to other countries in Asia and the Middle East. Besides pilot training, it is heavily employed in monitoring operations in the Amazon region. The deal represents a significant increase in capability for the Caribbean nation, which shares a border with Haiti. Fixed-wing aircraft in the Dominican Air Force at present are limited to a handful of T-35B Pillan trainers and a small number of light transport aircraft. Embraer declined to release any information on the delivery schedule. The deal is the third export success of the aircraft following sales of 25 aircraft to Colombia and 12 to Chile. To date, 63 aircraft have been delivered to the Brazilian Air Force. In all, 144 Super Tucanos have been sold. The aircraft is an upgraded version of the Tucano basic trainer, of which about 650 are in service with 15 air forces across the world.

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