Brazilian Air Force’s A-29 Super Tucano counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft on Sunday intercepted a light plane carrying 500kg of cocaine. Two A-29 Super Tucano planes were scrambled to track and intercept the aircraft. After the pilot of a single-engine aircraft failed to respond by radio and refused to follow the order to land at the certain airfield, the warplanes fired warning shots. After the plane landed in a rural area in the state of Sao Paulo, a police squad arrived at the scene to find 500kg of coca paste on board. The two smugglers from the plane fled and are still at large.
The Embraer A-29 Super Tucano , also named ALX or EMB 314, is a Brazilian turboprop light attack aircraft designed and built by Embraer as a development of the Embraer EMB 312 Tucano. The A-29 Super Tucano carries a wide variety of weapons, including precision-guided munitions, and was designed to be a low-cost system operated in low-threat environments. In addition to its manufacture in Brazil, Embraer has set up a production line in the United States in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Corporation for the manufacture of A-29s to export customers. In August 2001, the Brazilian Air Force awarded Embraer a contract for 76 Super Tucano / ALX aircraft with options for a further 23.
