Want one

By Peter Krupa | Published: February 24, 2010

Zoom zoom. (Via La Verdad Dominicana.)

If I could have a warplane, it would be an Embraer Super Tucano. The Brazilian-made planes are sharp, versatile, tough, and – at a cost of a mere US$9 million – a great deal. Apparently, many Latin American countries feel the same way. The LA Times is reporting that the Super Tucano is a hit with the drug-busting air forces of the region, and is gaining an international profile:

Chile and the Dominican Republic have bought Super Tucanos. An Embraer spokesman declined to comment on reports that Indonesia and Peru have also placed orders.

The Pentagon is considering buying 200 of the aircraft, and Britain’s Royal Air Force is weighing the possibility of replacing its fleet of Harrier vertical takeoff jets with Super Tucanos instead of Lockheed Martin F-35Bs, which cost 10 times as much.

If the Pentagon buys the planes — 100 each for the Navy and Air Force, according to reports — the order would equal the total number of Super Tucanos that have been sold to date.

The principal customers have been the air forces of Brazil, with 99, and Colombia, which bought 25.

On the other hand, war planes are dangerous. Here’s a video of what sounds like a Peruvian Tucano in action, shooting down a planeload of missionaries with the help of the CIA. Nice job, guys:

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One Comment

  1. sovi
    Posted March 22, 2010 at 10:35 am | Permalink

    it is nice to be able share many things here… hopefully our post make the world better ..

    Reply

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