Embraer manufactured several A-29 Super Tucanos on two assembly lines in 2023 that await signed orders before they can be delivered, the head of the company’s defense business tells Aviation Week.
The company’s assembly line in Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil, produced eight or nine A-29 light attack and advanced trainer aircraft without a customer order in 2023, Embraer Defense and Security CEO Joao Bosco Costa Junior said in an interview on the eve of the Singapore Airshow.
Another four A-29s were built on speculation by a second line in Jacksonville, Florida, which is dedicated to Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deals managed by Embraer’s U.S. partner Sierra Nevada, Bosco says.
“We didn’t deliver any units in 2023 due to some delays in the current sales campaigns that we have,” Bosco says. “But we have produced some units as white tails on our assembly line, so they would be ready to be delivered for the customer when we get a contract signature with those countries.”
Embraer’s last A-29 aircraft delivery came in 2021, which was for an FMS order signed by Nigeria.
Embraer issued no additional press releases about A-29 sales in 2022. However, the company’s 2022 annual report notes that the defense business “signed a new sale of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft” that year despite the pandemic, and the report adds that deliveries were planned in 2022 as well.
NATO unveiled a concept last April for a NATO-compliant version of the A-29, seeking to attract orders for the aircraft in Europe. The new version includes Link 16 and ARC-210 radios, a Mode 4/5 Interrogation Friend or Foe transponder, and KY-100 high-frequency cryptographic security.
A month before Embraer’s announcement, Portugal named a close air support aircraft as a new fleet requirement, with local media reports saying that the country could buy as many as 10 A-29s.
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