MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan Air Force receiving brand new aircraft this week

There will be two other Super Tucanos pending delivery

The first four Brazilian-built single-engined Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft will arrive in Paraguay this Friday, flown by Paraguayan pilots, trained by the manufacturers, Paraguayan Air Force Chief, Gen. Julio Fullaondo, announced Wednesday.

“Paraguay has acquired the Super Tucano with the latest technology, it is better equipped than all those that have been acquired before,” Fullaondo told reporters. The two aircraft pending delivery will arrive in the country between October and November of this year, he added.

The operation cost Paraguay US$106 million, partly obtained through a loan from the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

“The administrative procedures are being analyzed between the bank and Embraer, which will allow the transfer of these aircraft. We are confident, we are in conversation with the Embraer people, and we believe that the arrival of the first four Super Tucano aircraft will take place on Friday,” Fullaondo explained.

“This [new purchase] will allow us to strengthen our defense capacity, which is very important for any type of internal or external threat. The main enemy we have is illicit flights, transnational organized crime. Our objective is to combat this evil,” he also pointed out after recalling that Paraguay had last equipped its Air Force with these units in 1987.

A total of eight pilots and 12 mechanics are currently undergoing training in Brazil, it was also explained. “We have Super Tucano pilots who were trained by the Brazilian Air Force, and these pilots are the ones who will bring the aircraft, since they are authorized to operate. Independently, another eight will be trained and will return to Paraguay to continue with flight training for three months with Brazilian instructors,” the general elaborated.