Brazil will sign a partnership agreement with Portugal to transfer Embraer’s A-29N Super Tucano aircraft manufacture to the European continent.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will sign the new protocol while visiting Portugal’s aeronautical industry, OGMA, which will be responsible for assembly.
Embraer owns 65% of OGMA. However, it is not yet clear how the A-29N will be assembled in Portugal.
The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, confirmed the information on Saturday, 22.
“Portugal will host the entire pilot training process in Europe and Africa for this fighter,” the Prime Minister confirmed.
The Brazilian attack aircraft will be produced to the standard that meets the operational requirements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Currently, the Super Tucano is already manufactured on the soil of a NATO member country.
The aircraft is assembled in Jacksonville, Florida, in the United States, in partnership with Sierra Nevada.
The Super Tucano is dispatched in kits from Gavião Peixoto, in the interior of São Paulo, to be partially assembled on US soil.
By then, Embraer had already sold more than 260 units of the model, which were delivered to 15 Air Forces around the world, including those in the United States.
Developed as a highly versatile aircraft, the A-29 can perform various missions, such as a light attack, surveillance and aerial interception, and counter-insurgency.
The Super Tucano can operate from remote, unpaved runways at forward operating bases with little logistical support.
With information from Revista Oeste