Uruguay’s Minister of Defense, Armando Castaingdebat, confirmed on Monday that the country has decided to acquire six A-29 Super Tucano turboprops that will be used to patrol its borders.
The agreement with Embraer is estimated at US$100 million and the planes should allow for the retirement of seven Cessna A-37 Dragonfly jets, which have been in service with the air force for many decades.
According to El País, an Embraer delegation has been in Uruguay since last weekend to carry out exchanges with personnel from the Uruguayan Air Force.
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Embraer had not confirmed a possible agreement with Uruguay until the article was published.
Uruguay even planned to buy supersonic fighters
The small Uruguayan Air Force currently operates a fleet of 30 planes and 10 helicopters and has the A-37 as its only combat aircraft.
In the past, however, it has flown Lockheed T-33 and F-80 Shooting Star jets.
For some time now, the government has been planning to equip it with a more modern and capable aircraft.
In 2020, the Ministry of Defense began surveys with fighter manufacturers such as the South Korean KAI (FA-50), Leonardo (M-346) and the Chinese Hongdu (L-15B) in search of a jet aircraft.
Even the Saab Gripen C was considered, but the plan did not evolve.
In 2023, a United States aircraft broker made a proposal to Uruguay that included second-hand BAe Hawk 100 and EMB-312 Tucano aircraft.
The value of the package would also be US$100 million, with the delivery of two British jets and six Embraer training turboprops.
The Air Force also evaluated two other aircraft, the L-39NG and the Yak-130.
