Tue, Jun 03, 2008
US May Purchase Eight Planes For Use In Iraq
The Associated Press cites a Brazilian newspaper in reporting
that EP Aviation, a subsidiary of controversial US military
security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, has purchased a fighter
plane from Embraer.
The 314-B1 Super Tucano propeller-driven fighter is the same one
used by the Brazilian military, but was reportedly delivered
without the wing-mounted, .50-caliber machine guns which are
normally standard equipment.
The price, according to the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, was
$4.5 million. Delivery reportedly took place at the end of
February.
The FAA website confirmed the plane's N-number is registered to
EP Aviation. EP Aviation says it has 33 planes and helicopters
registered with the FAA, but only one from Embraer. This may be
Embraer's first sale of a military aircraft to a private
company.
Brazilian law prohibits the sale of
arms to companies or for use in existing conflicts, but the paper
reported this deal was approved by Brazilian President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva after discussions with the US
government.
It may also be the first of what could be several orders. On
Monday, Luiz Carlos Siqueira Aguiar -- Embraer's VP for government
market sales -- said US officials may purchase as many as eight
Super Tucanos, for use in Iraq.
US support for the sale will add to the controversy surrounding
Blackwater. The world's largest private security company is already
under investigation by a US federal grand jury for its involvement
in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, and may face
weapons-smuggling charges, which it has already denied.
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