The US Air Force has accepted three A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft in California to expand training and test capabilities under the service’s Test Pilot School program.
Stationed at Edwards AFB, the fleet and its corresponding “low-cost close-air support” function will be utilized to address the agency’s requirements in its primary missions, including the development of staff, growth of test managers, and research on innovative solutions.
The air force noted that the A-29’s airframe can be used for spin testing as well as other trials needing external payload integrations, increasing preparations and evaluations on multi-domain sensors while reducing reliance on other aircraft employed under the service’s development test missions, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and T-38 Talon.
Floating Aircraft Now in Use
The arrival of the Super Tucanos at Edwards AFB is part of the US Air Force’s ongoing strategy to modernize and exhaust military equipment to keep pace with the evolving theater.
The aircraft were originally purchased for the service’s Special Operations Command but were divested after certain military rearrangements in 2022.
“The decision to transfer A-29 aircraft to Edwards is a result of thoughtful analysis by the Test Pilot School and an excellent example of command agility and collaboration to take advantage of a unique, fleeting opportunity,” US Air Force Test Center Plans and Programs Director Michael Banzet explained.
“Not only does this repurpose a $63 million taxpayer investment, it also modernizes and expands TPS curriculum to accelerate the fielding of combat capability for the US Air Force.”
The Super Tucano
The A-29 Super Tucano has a fuselage measuring 11 meters (37 feet) and an overall weight of 3,200 kilograms (7,055 pounds).
It has a top speed of 320 knots (593 kilometers/368 per hour), a service ceiling of 10,668 meters (35,000 feet), a range of 1,562 nautical miles (2,893 kilometers), and an endurance of up to seven hours.
The aircraft is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engine with 1,604 horsepower and a five-bladed Hartzell propeller.
Users can equip the plane with miniguns and machine guns, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, general-purpose, cluster, and incendiary explosives, precision-guided bombs, countermeasures, drop tanks, and electro-optical infrared sensors.
