Upgraded FAB Super Tucanos to network with Gripen over datalink
December 2, 2024
Following a feasibility study in early 2025, the modernisation of Brazil’s A-29 Super Tucano fleet to A-29M standard will see four operational squadrons’ aircraft receive extended capabilities; better aligning the Super Tucano’s avionics with the country’s Gripen fighter.
As reported by Defensa, the modernised A-29M will include new electro-optical sensors and an updated cockpit with a single wide-area type display (similar to the Gripen E’s WAD) to replace its two current screens. Other new features will include new missile protection systems and additional armour.
The integration of the national Link-BR-2 joint tactical datalink will also enable the A-29M to communicate with ground stations, the eight Gripen fighters received to date, and the FAB’s five Erieye-equipped E-99 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft.
In June 2023, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force announced that studies for the A-29’s mid-life upgrade were underway, with FAB Commander Lieutenant-Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno commenting: “The proposed upgrade should allow the Air Force to maintain the modern platform and to broaden the operational use of this versatile and extremely reliable aircraft for many years to come”. The A-29 has been operational with the FAB since 2003.
At the time, Embraer added that “examples of updates and evolutions already applied to the product… are found in the [advanced] avionics system with expansion capacity, navigation and communications systems, in the expansion of available weapons’ systems, and surveillance and self-protection sensors of the aircraft”.
Embraer explains that “as a genuine multi-mission aircraft, the A-29M is flexible enough to provide air forces with a single platform for light attack, armed reconnaissance, close air support, and advanced training, thus optimising their fleets”. The launch of the NATO-configured A-29N in April 2023 also further expanded the type’s employment possibilities, something described by CEO of Embraer Defense and Security Bosco da Costa Junior as “a new stage in the operational life of the A-29 Super Tucano”. In June 2024, Portugal was announced as the launch customer for the A-29N.
