The Brazilian aerospace industry is generally resonated with Embraer, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, but there are other initiatives in the country that have attracted attention.
A recent initiative came from the company Ataer, which created a small twin-engine passenger and cargo to be the successor to Bandeirante, Embraer’s first aircraft, launched in the 1970s. Now it was the turn of Akaer, a company that supplies components for aviation, reveal his first airplane project.
Dubbed the “Mosquito”, the twin-engine light-attack turboprop nevertheless resembles another airplane, the OV-10 Bronco, produced by Rockwell company 50 years ago (now part of Boeing).
The concept of the Brazilian airplane was presented at the LAAD defense exhibition, which took place in Rio de Janeiro last week. Like the Bronco, it has a double tail attached to the supports of the central horizontal stabilizer engines, a rare configuration. But unlike the American plane, the Mosquito takes its two occupants in tandem with a cockpit pressurized.
The aircraft reveals an enormous ability to carry armaments on four pylons on the wings plus two double stations on the underside of the fuselage. Among the weapons are cannons, rocket , laser guided bombs and air-to-air missiles, as well as search sensors and target marking. Akaer has not revealed the estimated performance data but says the aircraft is capable of flying for 10 hours and has a cycle of life of over 30 years.
“The Mosquito is a concept study, the result of a research and development project, developed by Akaer during the company’s process to become Tier 1 for the global market. The concept study that resulted in the Mosquito was done within this environment, from conception to production,” said Fernando Ferraz, Akaer’s vice president of operations, to Airway.
For now, Akaer has not confirmed whether the project will become a reality, but has been optimistic. “The project has already attracted the attention of potential international clients, which could result in new business,” said Ferraz.
