USAF begins process to buy light attack aircraft

FOUR MORE A-29 SUPER TUCANO LIGHT-ATTACK AIRCRAFT DELIVERED TO AFGHAN AIR FORCE

By Gabriele Barison
Apr 1 2017
Share this article

The A-29s were a “game changer” in the 2016 fighting season and there are high expectations for the aircraft and crews in 2017

On Mar. 20, 2017 four A-29 Super Tucano light-attack aircraft arrived for duty at Kabul Air Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan, where they Afghan Air Force (AAF) will use them for close-air attack, air interdiction, escort and armed reconnaissance.

As told by Capt. Jason Smith, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, in the article A-29s arrive at Kabul in time for fighting season, the arrival of the aircraft, which traveled from Moody Air Force Base (AFB), Ga., bring the AAF A-29 inventory from eight to 12 aircraft in country.

Currently seven more A-29s are assigned to Moody AFB where they are used for training pilots.

“The four additional aircraft will allow us to increase the number of missions we are able to support nationwide,” pointed out an Afghan A-29 pilot who can’t be identified for security reasons. “More targets can be attacked—more ground troops can be supported.”

As he explains, sometimes a nation needs their military to pressure the enemy in order to develop peace and stability.

“The AAF plays a major role in this,” he said. “We are helping the peace process. When an A-29 is overhead, it gives motivation to the ground troops, and the enemy realizes they can be struck anywhere and will feel the pressure to come to the peace table. This is how we will bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.”

In fact the A-29s were a “game changer” in the 2016 fighting season and there are high expectations for the aircraft and crews in 2017.

“The AAF pilots are continually gaining proficiency in the A-29,” said Brig. Gen. David Hicks, Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) and 438th Air Expeditionary Wing commander. “They are capable of providing air attack anywhere in the country. In the past, the Afghan National Army relied on the Coalition for air support. Now, it’s their own countrymen overhead flying the missions.”

Hicks said the additional A-29s give the AAF more options to forward deploy airpower throughout the country.

Lt. Col. Johnnie Green, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron commander, said the AAF A-29 pilots are performing remarkably well, and the pilots have demonstrated excellent decision making.

“The experience they have gained in one year since beginning combat operations is phenomenal, and they are communicating these experiences with each other,” said Green. “That is so important as the new A-29 pilots return from training and begin flying combat operations themselves.”

The newest A-29s will undergo a brief reconfiguration after which they will be ready for combat operations in the 2017 fighting season.

In 2011 the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano was declared the winner of the US Light Air Support (LAS) contract competition over the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6B Texan II. The contract was canceled in 2012 citing concerns with the procurement process, but re-won in 2013. Twenty of these light attack aircraft were purchased for the Afghan Air Force.

The first four aircraft arrived in Afghanistan in Jan. 2016.

Afghan A-29 pilots are trained by 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody AFB and the entire fleet of 20 A-29’s will be delivered to AAF by Dec. 2018.

Photo credit: Senior Airman Jordan Castelan and Tech. Sgt. Veronica Pierce / U.S. Air Force


Share this article

Gabriele Barison

Gabriele Barison

Gabriele Barison is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Co-Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. He has flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Error: Contact form not found.


Share this article
Back to top
My Agile Privacy
This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

List of some possible advertising permissions:

You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices