Sierra Nevada Corporation and Embraer Defense and Security delivered the first United States-built A-29 Super Tucano light air support aircraft to the US Air Force during a ceremony Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a company release. It is the first of 20 such aircraft that will eventually call Moody AFB, Ga., home. The base was named the US training location for the Afghan air force’s A-29 pilots and maintainers in late August. “The Super Tucano is a robust and powerful turboprop aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of missions,” said Jackson Schneider, Embraer Defense and Security CEO and president. Jackson noted that over 10-plus years of operations the A-29 has proven “to be a cost-effective airpower solution for nations around the world.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.