The debate over the A-29 Super Tucano as a potential replacement for the venerable A-10 Warthog has been a hot topic in military circles.
Built by Brazil’s Embraer, the A-29 is a propeller-driven light attack aircraft that has garnered significant praise, particularly from U.S. Special Forces, for its close air support (CAS) capabilities.
This aircraft is designed to maintain precise support with fast-moving ground forces and to loiter for extended periods over battlefields, making it the asset of choice for low-intensity and uncontested environments.
However, the talk of the A-29 replacing the A-10 Warthog is highly skeptical.
In any case, the A-10 is much more heavily armored, travels much faster, at about 420 miles per hour, and carries 16,000 pounds of ordnance compared with the Super Tucano’s payload capacity.
Its famous 30mm Gatling gun, which the A-29 has not, would also give it a decisive advantage in combat.
One can easily imagine it would require several A-29s to equal the firepower one A-10 has to offer.
The U.S. Air Force was looking for a low-cost aircraft for armed reconnaissance, interdiction, and close air support from unimproved airfields in its Light Attack Experiment (OA-X).
The A-29 Super Tucano and the Beechcraft AT-6B Wolverine both emerged as leaders in the competition.
The Super Tucano is already being used by the Afghan Air Force and various U.S. allies for counterinsurgency operations, proving itself in those tasks.
Although this aircraft has its merits, the suggestion for replacing the A-10 with the A-29 looks unrealistic and is strategically unsound because the A-10 is faster, better armored, and better armed.
The A-29 cannot be considered durable or comparable with the payload capacity the A-10 possesses.
The A-29 Super Tucano has accumulated over 500,000 total hours with 60,000 combat hours, but equips twin M3P .50-caliber machine guns and carries up to 3,714 pounds payload of external weapons.
This “light attack” aircraft is highly maneuverable but, due to this agility, also more readily susceptible to destruction than the heavily armored A-10.
Bottom line: The A-29 Super Tucano is a low-cost, reliable asset, but it just can’t replace the A-10 Warthog.
The unmatched firepower, speed, and armor of the A-10 Warthog make it an irreplaceable component of the U.S. Air Force’s close air support capabilities.