Afghanistan receives four more Super Tucanos

Afghan troops received another four fixed-wing A-29 aircraft March 20, the Defense Department said this week, bringing their in-country Super Tucano fleet to 12 total. The Afghan Air Force flies A-29s for close-air attack, air interdiction, escort and armed reconnaissance missions.

The Air Force previously said the program was expected to reach full operational capability by April once the four aircraft were delivered. Eight more A-29s are slated to move from Moody Air Force Base, GA, to Afghanistan in December 2018.

In October 2016, the Air Force also issued a sources-sought notice on Federal Business Opportunities seeking companies to produce four more A-29 within 18 months after award, to be shipped to the Afghan training site at Moody AFB. Super Tucanos are built by the Sierra Nevada Corporation, a subcontractor to Embraer, the original manufacturer.

The new A-29s will be reconfigured for combat operations in 2017, the Pentagon said in a March 22 release. Super Tucanos can be equipped with infrared target sensors, .50-caliber machine guns, 2.75-inch rockets and 250- and 500-pound laser-guided bombs.

Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the Resolute Support mission and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, in February called that fight a “stalemate” and asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to approve additional funds for the Afghan Air Force.

More money is needed to grow aircraft operations as soon as possible, Nicholson said without specifying an amount. About 20 Afghan pilots had flown more than 800 A-29 missions so far, he added.

President Trump's fiscal year 2017 defense budget amendment submitted March 16 includes $1.1 billion for Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan, the United States mission backing NATO's Resolute Support effort. Those funds address joint urgent operational needs, “increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and force protection capabilities for U.S. forces and its coalition allies and partners in support of training, advising, and assisting the Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces,” according to a Pentagon overview.