The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is close to completing the upgrade of the first Tucano training aircraft to the T-27M standard. The aircraft, manufactured by Embraer in the 1980s, is being modified at the Air Force’s own facilities in the city of Lagoa Santa.
The Tucano update process includes a new panel with digital instruments. According to the FAB, the most advanced system allows meeting the new air traffic rules, such as the RNAV and RNP procedures, and will also improve the training of pilots.
The forecast is that 42 planes will go through the process, which should be concluded by December 2022. This is less than half of the total aircraft active in the Brazilian Air Force, which has 103 units of the EMB-312, as it is designated by Embraer.
“This is an advance for the Air Force, so that it will be possible to improve the formation of cadets, with regard to instrument flight, since the panel will be modified to meet the modern navigation requirements for flying in Brazilian airspace. The modernization will also bring a solution to the obsolescence of some components of the instrument panel, items that do not have alternatives in the market”, explained the director of the maintenance unit, Colonel Aviator Marcelo Reed Sardinha.
First military aircraft designed by Embraer, the EMB-312 Tucano entered service with the FAB in September 1983 and was later exported to 13 countries, including France and the United Kingdom. In the 90s, the Brazilian manufacturer developed the EMB-314 Super Tucano, a larger and more powerful variant that is used as a light attack aircraft.
