Air power on the cheap

[Kunal Biswas]

AT-802U air tractor

 

[asianobserve]

 

[Tshering22]

Super Tucanos are pretty deadly in their class of aircraft with the weapons they pack. I don't understand why we didn't choose them and got the Swiss trainers instead. This would have been the perfect opportunity to collaborate with Brazil as well.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Super Tucanos are pretty deadly in their class of aircraft with the weapons they pack. I don't understand why we didn't choose them and got the Swiss trainers instead. This would have been the perfect opportunity to collaborate with Brazil as well.

PC-7 also have armed for weaponry training..

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

USAF reverses Tucano purchase

The US Air Force has been forced to reverse a contract award for the turbo-powered Embraer Super Tucano fighter after conducting an internal review of the selection process.The reversal comes after USAF leaders pledged to clean up their acquisition process following a series of embarassing procurement blunders for tankers and helicopters.The move also appears to re-open the light air support [LAS] contract to competition nearly four months after the USAF controversially eliminated the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 from the competition.David Van Biden, the USAF's top acquisition official, "is not satisfied with the quality of the documentation supporting the award decision," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley in a prepared statement.Meanwhile, General Donald Hoffman, chief of air force material command, has launched a "commander directed investigation" into the selection process, Donley said.The USAF considered two bids for LAS contract to supply 20 turboprop fighters for the Afghan air force to perform counter-insurgency missions.Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation offered Super Tucano and a Hawker Beechcraft/Lockheed Martin team proposed the AT-6 Texan II.In early November, the USAF informed the AT-6 team that their aircraft had been eliminated from the competition, but did not explain the reason. That message, however, became lost within Hawker's internal mail system, and the company failed to respond until 11 days later.Hawker's protest with the Government Accountability Office was rejected after the agency determined the company failed to submit its case before the contractual deadline.Hawker filed an appeal in the Court of Federal Claims, and that litigation process is ongoing.

Source
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...rchase-368892/




They intend to get this to AT-6

 

[Kunal Biswas]

The Colombian Goverment purchase 24 Embraer Super Tucano like that in the Colombian air force is the A-29B Super Tucano. A total of 25 Super Tucanos (variant AT-29B) were purchased by the Colombian Air Force in a 234 million USD deal, purchased directly from the Brazilian company Embraer. The first three aircraft arrived in the morning of 14 December 2006 to the military airfield of CATAM in Bogotá. Two more aircraft were delivered on the week of 16 December 2006, 10 more in the first semester of 2007 and the rest in June 2008

Baptism of Fire
On 18 January 2007, a squadron of Super Tucanos from the Colombian Air Force, using the Mk 82, attacked positions of the FARC(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in an area of jungle. This action, which marks the baptism of fire of the Super Tucano. It was conducted in CCIP(Continuously Computed Impact Point) mode , and reported as a success in action.

Operation Phoenix
In 2008, the Colombian Air Force used a Super Tucano armed with Griffin bombs inside Ecuadorian airspace during "Operation Phoenix", to destroy a guerrilla cell and kill the second-in-command chief of FARC, Raúl Reyes. This event led to a diplomatic break between the two countries.

Operation Sodoma
On 21 September 2010, Operation Sodoma in the Meta department began, 120 miles south of the capital Bogotá. FARC commander Mono Jojoy was killed in a massive military operation in the early hours of September 22nd, a squadron of 25 Brazilian-made Super Tucano ground-attack aircraft launched seven tonnes of explosives on the camps, while some 600 special forces troops descended by rope from helicopters, opposed by 700 guerrillas. a total of 20 guerrillas died in the attack.

Operation Odiseo
On 15 October 2011, Operation Odiseo started with a total of 969 different military bodies of the Colombian armed forces. A total of 18 aircraft participated in "Operation Odiseo". On 4 November 2011, five Super Tucanos were used to launch a heavy bombing of 100 lb(45 kg) and 250 lb(135kg), plus high-precision smart bombs. This operation ended with the death of the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC), Alfonso Cano. It was biggest blow in the history of the of the guerrilla organization.

At dawn of the 22 of February of 2012, EMB-314 aircraft identified the camp of the FARC's 57th Front, 15 kilometers north of Bojayá near the border with Panama. The Super Tucano dropped two high-precision bombs destroying the camp and killing six FARC rebels including Pedro Alfonso Alvarado alias "Mapanao", responsable Bojayá massacre in 2002 which killed 119 civilians


This amazing COIN aircraft prove itself its perfect performance for the Colombian internal conflict, that is a Guerrilla war fare. The Super Tucano can be in the area of action more than a Turbo Jet aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer...4_Super_Tucano

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Beechcraft's AT-6 v. Embraer's Super Tucano A-29: the facts

FYI I have already been accused of writing this article in support of a foreign business entity which is in competition with an American business, however that is not the intent. The purpose is to present facts in a "fair and balanced" article and allow the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. Yes, I am prepared for blow-back.

Several days ago I ran into a slurry of outraged tweets complaining that Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6 light attack military plane was barred from bidding on a contract by the U.S Force and that the contract had been awarded to Brazilian aircraft company Embraer for its Super Tucano A-29. The contract would be for Light Air Support (LAS) for counter-insurgency in Afghanistan.

After doing some investigation I found the primary source of the "outrage" was this article in which the author does indeed state in the title the Obama administration "sends a weapon contract" to a country with ties to Iran, namely Brazil. Yes, it's no secret Brazil and Iran are "friendly" but I don't believe that is relevant to this article.

Being a frequent visitor to Brazil I know their presidents would be the first to shout to the high heavens their country was awarded such a prestigious contract. After all, current Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was the first to announce last spring one of Obama's primary reasons for his visit there was to buy oil from them. Knowing Brazilian papers would be at this point the best source for any news, I made the short hop via the internet which I believe has led me down the correct path. And according to the Brazilian website Poder Aereo ("air power") no contract has yet been awarded and it probably won't happen until the end of this year. [Note: all articles on this subject begin here. They are in portuguese and to read them in English one has to go to translate google].

The spokesman for the USAF, Jennifer Cassidy, told Aviation Week that "the Air Force remains in close contact with all offerors in the competition LAS. Because the selection is ongoing, we can not comment on the condition (status) of any of the proposals. We anticipate the award of the contract in late November / early December. We will have more information so that all bidders receive their reports (the "debriefing") following the award of the contract.

Brazil's Embraer (a compilation of empresa Brasil aeronautica, or "Brazilian aeronautical business") small passenger planes have a long history of being a favorite of U.S. commercial airlines for their short-hop flights. Reliable, trustworthy and economical I have flown in them many times. Embraer also builds the Super Tucano A-29, a turbo-prop which is a light, military attack plane and they have sold many around the world including to Columbia. A Super Tucano was credited with killing FARC's second-in-command leader Paul Reyes in 2008. Now they are in the running to take a contract from the U.S.

Below is testimony from CMR James Flatley USN (retired) discussing his experience with the Super Tucano A-29 and how it is combat-proven and mission ready. FYI the AT-6 is still in prototype stage:

And just in case one assumes this contract if awarded to Embraer, would mean jobs would be taken overseas, nothing could be further from the truth. The A-29 would be built in Jacksonville, Florida and would mean high-quality engineering and technical jobs. According to Chris Brayman:

When you compare the A-29 to the AT-6 you're comparing a proven light attack aircraft to a prototype, modified trainer. There really is no comparison in the strength and the proof of these aircraft:

Poder Aereo's chief writer who is also a former Brazilian air force pilot, tells us why the Hawker-Beechcraft fell short and he uses Flatley's video plus his own diagrams and charts:

And below is a chart comparing the two aircraft:

Based on the chart above, I think it is fairly clear why Hawker Beechcraft was not allowed to bid on the contract. I am a firm believer that our military and those we protect deserve the best equipment and aircraft available. And if it happens to come from a company based in another country, then so be it. Beechcraft just needs to take the mantra of one prominent car rental company and not say "we try harder, but we MUST try harder." The final verdict is still out on this one. I'll keep my eyes peeled and ears open.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Cockpit d'un Supr Tucano

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Ankit Purohit]

Fantastic pics

 

[Kunal Biswas]

A-29 Super Tucano - Indonesia's Air Force


São Paulo, August 6, 2012 -- Embraer Defense and Security has today delivered four light attack and tactical training A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to Indonesia's Air Force at a ceremony held in its facility in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, Brazil.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

A-29 Super T: Built For The Mission


The A-29 Super Tucano stands alone as the only combat-proven, mission ready and operational contender in the U.S. Air Force Light Air Support (LAS) competition.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[datguy79]

Can't wait till these birds tear through the Taliban, air raids are essential in remote districts.