Portugal to purchase 12 NATO-configured A-29 Super Tucanos

Portugal has announced that it will invest €200 million (US$209 million) to acquire 12 A-29N Super Tucano aircraft from Embraer.

Announced via a statement from the Portuguese Council of Ministers on 12 December, the investment will also reportedly include a flight simulator and goods and logistics support, as well as full implementation and support of the aircraft.

The procedure to acquire the 12 aircraft will involve “strong participation of the Portuguese industry” with a view to configuring the aircraft “to NATO standards and specifications”, the government added.

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This acquisition of the A29-N aircraft from Embraer means that Portugal will be the first European NATO country to operate the light attack aircraft.

The A-29N was first launched in 2023 by Embraer, with the manufacturer adding that it had already seen interest from “several European countries”. As of 2024, this reportedly amounts to fellow NATO country and C-390 customer the Netherlands, and C-390 customer Austria.

This announcement follows previous discussions between Embraer and the Portuguese government in June 2024, where the latter gave the green light for the start of “technical and business negotiations” to begin.

Portugal is already supported with an Embraer production line via OGMA – a state-owned Embraer-authorised maintenance and manufacturing centre.

In 2019, Portugal announced its intention to acquire five C-390 Millennium aircraft from Embraer. With two aircraft now delivered, OGMA is heavily involved in the manufacturing process of this NATO order, which includes the fuselage centre.

According to CNN, the procedure for acquiring the A-29N aircraft will be similar to that of the C-390 Millennium, with it supporting the A-29N production. In 2023, four Portuguese aeronautical firms signed an MoU with Embraer to develop technologies for the Super Tucano – meaning that Embraer will manufacture the Super Tucano using NATO standards in partnership with OGMA.

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