USAF to Purchase 20 Super Tucano Aircraft

Written by Dabney B. on Saturday, January 7th, 2012

The Sierra Nevada Corporation just secured a contract with the USAF to act as the primary supplier of the super-light A-29 Super Tucano.

The USAF selected the aircraft because it fit all specifications for their new Light Air Support program. The Air Force is paying $335 million for 20 of the Super Tucano air craft.

The Air Force expects to get impressive mileage out of the purchase, using the Tucano for reconnaissance, advanced training, and ground support. Most importantly, it needs to fulfill all of these requirements at a much lower cost than a jet counterpart. The basic idea here is to purchase lighter and less powerful aircraft that are also much cheaper, so that they can be deployed on missions that do not warrant the most advance aircraft. Assuming that they are deployed on the right types of missions, the Tucano should be just as effective as the massively powerful F-35.

Versatility is the primary objective with cost-effective where to buy antibiotics online canada devices, and the Tucano delivers that admirably. It will meet the demands of ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), as well as packing a punch with a variety of light but effective weaponry.

This is not the Tucano’s first run. It has proven its effectiveness the air forces of 5 other countries, which is one of the factors that lead to the U.S. Air Force selecting the Tucano over any of the alternatives. Once the Sierra Nevada Corporation has completed its order, the total worldwide count of Tucanos should be around 170. Perhaps the best record of all is that
Tucanos have logged 18,000 combat hours without suffering any losses.

It’s easy to get behind numbers like that, and at just under $17 million for each Tucano, the USAF is getting a good deal. With a score of Tucano LAS added to the USAF arsenal, America will be much better suited to handle the uncertain demands of the future.

 

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