Sierra Nevada Corporation and Embraer Defense and Security delivered the first United States-built A-29 Super Tucano light air support aircraft to the US Air Force during a ceremony Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a company release. It is the first of 20 such aircraft that will eventually call Moody AFB, Ga., home. The base was named the US training location for the Afghan air force’s A-29 pilots and maintainers in late August. “The Super Tucano is a robust and powerful turboprop aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of missions,” said Jackson Schneider, Embraer Defense and Security CEO and president. Jackson noted that over 10-plus years of operations the A-29 has proven “to be a cost-effective airpower solution for nations around the world.”
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability prevail. “Peace through strength” has...