Airplanes Will Conduct Border Patrol Missions, Combat Drug Traffic

Embraer delivered the first two Super Tucano aircraft to the government of the Dominican Republic last week ... the first of 8 aircraft that will eventually enter service there. The delivery ceremony was attended by the Dominican Secretary of Defense, Lieutenant General Pedro Rafael Peña Antonio; the Vice Minister of the Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Nicolás Cabrera Arias; the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Brazil, Hector Dionisio Perez; Brigadier General and Pilot Ricardo Cabral Vittini; Minister Alejandro Arias Zarzuela; and Defense Attaché, Air Force Colonel Manuel Abad Garcia Lithgow.

The airplanes will be operated by the Dominican Air Force on missions involving internal security, border patrol, and combating the drug traffic. This contract represents the fourth export of this successful turboprop, after being sold to the Air Forces of Colombia (FAC), Chile (FACH), and Ecuador (FAE).

“The use of the Super Tucano airplanes by the Dominican Air Force, beginning with these first two deliveries, will increase the readiness and solidity of the nation’s defense system, by performing patrol missions with the operational efficiency and precision that are already combat proven,” said Orlando José Ferreira Neto, Embraer Executive Vice President, Defense Market. “We are pleased to be able to serve another prestigious customer, the Dominican Air Force.”

“The acquisition of these Super Tucano aircraft, manufactured by one of the world’s most prestigious companies, is one more example of the Government’s unshakeable decision to deal with the nation’s vulnerable areas, in order to protect ourselves from the scourge of the drug traffic,” stated the Secretary of Defense of the Dominican Republic, Lieutenant General Pedro Rafael Peña Antonio. “This is also happy day, because it represents the  achievement of a dream. A dream that became a project and soon was changed into action. It is another example of the genuine and undeniable concern of the Dominican people to pursue the solutions needed to make possible a more certain future for all of us.”

Eighty-three Super Tucanos have been delivered to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and 25 to the FAC, where they are successfully used for border patrol, combating the drug traffic, and other combat missions.

FMI: www.embraer.com