IDEX 2025: Embraer pushes counter-UAV capabilities for its Super Tucano
The A-29 Super Tucano is currently operated by the Afghan Air Force. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons / USAF Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.)
Embraer is looking to position its Super Tucano aircraft to Middle Eastern countries at IDEX to join current customers Lebanon and Afghanistan.
Embraer has said that it sees “strong opportunities” in the Middle East for its C-390 and Super Tucano, identifing the latter as an important platform in the region for countering uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Speaking to Shephard at IDEX in Abu Dhabi, Caetano Spuladro Neto, VP – sales and business development for the Middle East and Africa at Embraer, said that the company had been “adding capabilities” to counter uncrewed aerial systems to the Super Tucano as part of its wider product roadmap for the aircraft, aiming it towards countries in the region.
In addition to its capabilities surrounding counter insurgency, border surveillance and light-attack patrol, Spuladro Neto said that the company had seen an “increased need for [counter-UAV] capabilities” driven by the usage of UAS.
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The Brazilian company has positioned itself as a cost-effective alternative to larger combat aircraft which have been, and are, used to bring down UAS. It already utilises BAE Systems’ APKWS missile, which is integrated onto the aircraft.
Currently, the Super Tucano is used by 16 air forces worldwide, with more than 290 ordered. Recent orders include one to an undisclosed African nation in December 2024 and five to the Uruguayan Air Force in the same month.
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