At the end of September, the Embraer T-27 Tucano trainer aircraft was adopted by the Brazilian Air Force. Over the years, the aircraft was built in large series, supplied to the armed forces of Brazil and other states. In addition to its initial function of training pilots, this aircraft mastered the "profession" of an attack aircraft and eventually became one of the most famous representatives of the Brazilian aviation.
Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano
EMB-312 Tucano
The T-27 trainer was developed as a specialized aircraft based on the EMB-312 Tucano platform. Work on the EMB-312 project started at the very beginning of 1978. It was supposed to create several types of aircraft for various purposes on the basis of a single design. From the very beginning, it was planned to develop and put into series a training aircraft and a light attack aircraft. Thus, one project could provide a solution to two tasks at once that arose in front of the Brazilian air force.
The development of the new aircraft took relatively little time. Already in mid-August 1980, the first prototype of the EMB-312 aircraft took off for the first time. In December of the same year, the second prototype joined the flight tests. Since August 1982, the third prototype was used in tests, which later became the standard for production vehicles. At the end of September 83, Brazil adopted the first model of the aircraft based on the EMB-312, the T-27 Tucano trainer, into service with its air forces.
Taking into account the requirements regarding flight characteristics and special capabilities, the designers of the Embraer company made the EMB-312 aircraft according to the normal aerodynamic design with a straight low wing. The power elements of the fuselage and wing were made of aluminum alloys. The semi-monocoque fuselage had a length of 9, 86 m and was divided into several parts. A Pratt Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop engine with 750 hp was placed in the bow. The engine was equipped with a Hartzell HC-B3TN-3C / T10178-8R three-bladed propeller with an automatic pitch change system and the ability to reverse.
Immediately behind the engine compartment in the fuselage, there is a relatively large two-seater cockpit with a common canopy of a characteristic shape that can be reclined to the right. To rescue the crew, the EMB-312 is equipped with two Martin-Baker BR8LC ejection seats. A small luggage compartment is provided behind the cockpit for transporting the necessary equipment. The volume of the compartment is 0, 17 cubic meters. meters.
A wing with a span of about 11.1 meters and an area of 19.4 square meters is attached to the middle part of the fuselage, next to the cockpit. m. The wing has a two-spar design. Load-bearing elements and cladding are made of aluminum alloys. To increase the bearing characteristics, the wing profiles in the root and end parts are different. The wing mechanization consists of single-section flaps and ailerons with an electric control system. Inside the wing consoles there are two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 694 liters. The fuel system of these tanks allows the aircraft to fly upside down for about 30 seconds.
The empennage of the EMB-312 aircraft is made according to a two-spar scheme with a caisson. All rudders have threshold compensation and are equipped with electric trimmers.
The aircraft is equipped with a tricycle landing gear with a nose strut. All landing gear has one wheel. The cleaning and release system is hydraulic; if necessary, the crew can use a backup mechanical one. The nose landing gear is retracted into the fuselage by turning back, the main ones - into the wing, turning towards the fuselage. The main landing gear is equipped with hydraulic brakes, and the front is equipped with a vibration damper.
For the convenience of the crew, the aircraft is equipped with an engine-driven freon air conditioning system. In addition, there is a heating of the cab and blowing the windshield with air taken from the engine. The oxygen system provides an individual gas supply to both pilots. The oxygen supply is stored in six containers. For communication with the ground and flights in adverse weather conditions, EMB-312 received radio stations and a set of navigation equipment.
The EMB-312 aircraft turned out to be quite light - its dry weight does not exceed 1870 kg. The normal takeoff weight of a training aircraft is 2550 kg, and with the maximum amount of fuel and full combat load, the takeoff weight increases to 3200 kg. The 750-horsepower turboprop engine provides the aircraft with the characteristics required to perform the assigned tasks. EMB-312 can accelerate to 448 km / h and has a cruising speed of 400-410 kilometers per hour. Such speed indicators make it possible to safely use the aircraft for training pilots, and are also suitable for solving problems of finding and destroying ground targets. The practical ceiling of the aircraft in both versions is 9150 m, the practical range is over 1800 kilometers. With full fuel and with outboard tanks, the ferry range exceeds 3300 km.
The issue of using the EMB-312 aircraft as a light attack aircraft was solved in an interesting way. To convert a training vehicle into a shock one and vice versa, it is required to suspend or remove the necessary weapons and carry out small preparatory work. Thus, the aircraft is equipped with a simple red dot sight in the cockpit. The combat load is located on four underwing units, the normal load of each is 250 kg. The EMB-312 aircraft in the attack aircraft version can use machine-gun containers, unguided rockets and bombs.
The first in mass production was the training version of the EMB-312 aircraft called the T-27. The Brazilian Air Force ordered 133 aircraft of this modification in 1983. Soon after, the first export contracts appeared. The T-27 Tucano aircraft interested Iraq and Egypt, which purchased 80 and 40 aircraft, respectively. Subsequently, Egypt placed an additional order for 14 aircraft. Due to the geographical and logistic peculiarities of the first export contracts, the aircraft for the Middle East countries were built by the Egyptian company AOI under license with the support of Embraer.
In 1984, aircraft of the EMB-312 family were ordered by Venezuela and Honduras. The contracts included the supply of 31 aircraft for the Venezuelan Air Force and 12 vehicles for the Honduran Armed Forces. Some Venezuelan Tucano aircraft have received a new designation. For example, training aircraft were still called T-27, and light attack aircraft were renamed A-27. Later, EMB-312 aircraft of various modifications were built for Argentina, Iran, Colombia and other countries.
Of great interest is the contract signed in the mid-eighties. This agreement between Brazil and the United Kingdom included the licensed construction of Tucano aircraft at British production facilities owned by Short. Before signing the contract, Embraer and Short finalized the original design in accordance with the requirements of the customer, represented by the British Air Force. First of all, a new Garrett TPE331-12B turboprop engine with a capacity of 820 hp was installed. Thanks to this, the maximum speed of the aircraft reached 610 km / h, and the cruising speed increased to 510 km / h. Other flight characteristics have changed slightly. The resulting S.312 Tucano, also known as the Tucano T. I, entered service in 1988. 130 vehicles of this type were built.
In the future, Short independently created two modifications of the aircraft, produced under license. The first of these, the Tucano Mk.51, was intended for the Kenyan Air Force. This version differed from the base aircraft by the possibility of training pilots in the use of cannon weapons, unguided missiles and bombs. The Kenyan military has ordered 12 aircraft of this type. Soon afterwards, Kuwait expressed its desire to acquire such training machines. 16 aircraft of the Tucano Mk.52 modification differed from the equipment for Kenya in the composition of the equipment.
Separately, it is worth noting the 1993 contract, according to which France received 50 aircraft in the EMB-312F version. At the request of the customer, Embraer modified the aircraft, increasing the airframe life to 10 thousand hours and installing new electronic equipment. The French side provided a number of systems that replaced the previously used ones. The EMB-312F aircraft served in the French Air Force until the end of the last decade.
EMB-314 Super Tucano
In the early nineties, Embraer made an attempt to improve the EMB-312 aircraft and unleash its modernization potential. The EMB-312H Super Tucano project implied a number of important changes in the design and equipment of the aircraft, designed to significantly improve its flight and combat characteristics. In 1993, two prototypes of the new aircraft were built, which later demonstrated the correctness of the applied technical solutions.
The upgraded trainer or strike aircraft received a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68C turboprop engine with a capacity of 1600 hp. with a five-blade propeller, designed to provide higher performance for a heavier machine. The airframe design was significantly strengthened, its service life increased to 12-18 thousand hours. The cockpit received Kevlar protection and a number of new electronic equipment, including LCD screens. After such re-equipment, the aircraft became longer by about one and a half meters longer (the total length was 11.4 m), and also became much heavier. The empty weight of the Super Tucano is 3200 kilograms. The maximum take-off weight has grown to 5400 kg.
The maximum speed of the EMB-312H aircraft reached 590 km / h, cruising speed - 520 km / h. With normal refueling, the aircraft is capable of overcoming over 1500 km, the ferry range is about 2800 km.
With the modernization, the combat qualities of the strike version of the aircraft have significantly improved. First of all, it should be noted that the Super Tucano received two built-in 12.7 mm FN M3P machine guns at the root of the wing. The ammunition of each of them is 200 rounds. Five hardpoints (four underwing pylons and one under the fuselage) can carry a combat load with a total weight of up to 1550 kg. The range of weapons suitable for use by the EMB-312H aircraft includes machine gun and cannon containers with weapons of 7, 62 to 20 mm caliber, guided and unguided bomb and missile armament. For self-defense, the attack aircraft can carry guided air-to-air missiles. Thus, the new light attack aircraft, unlike the previous Tucano model, is capable of striking not only with unguided weapons, but can also destroy a wide range of targets, including fortifications, armored vehicles and front-line aircraft of the enemy.
By the time of the first orders, the EMB-312H project was renamed to EMB-314. In addition, by this time, two versions of the attack aircraft had been developed, differing from each other in some elements of the appearance. Thus, the A-29A aircraft is equipped with only one pilot's workplace and carries an additional 400 liter fuel tank. Modification A-29B, like the previous aircraft of the Tucano family, has two pilot workplaces, and in addition is equipped with various electronic equipment necessary to monitor the battlefield.
In 2001, Brazil became the starting customer of Super Tucano aircraft. From the end of 2003 to the middle of 2012, 99 aircraft of the A-29A and A-29B versions were delivered to it. The Brazilian Air Force uses these aircraft to locate and, if necessary, destroy drug cartel vehicles. Often, attack aircraft have to take on the functions of fighters and force planes with illegal cargo to land. In addition, pilots of Super Tucano aircraft are empowered by law to shoot down smugglers.
In the mid 2000s, Colombia ordered 25 A-29Bs. The machines were delivered over the next few years. The first case of combat operation of the Colombian Super Tucano occurred in January 2007, when the aircraft launched a missile and bomb attack on the camp of the formation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. In the future, the Colombian Air Force regularly used new attack aircraft to fight insurgents and drug trafficking.
To date, EMB-314 Super Tucano aircraft serve in the air forces of Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, etc. The deliveries of these aircraft to the United States are of particular interest. In the middle of the last decade, the private military company Blackwater Worldwide acquired one Brazilian attack aircraft in a slightly modified configuration. In particular, it lacked built-in weapons. According to some reports, this aircraft was used in recent local conflicts. In 2008, another EMB-314 aircraft was acquired by the US Special Operations Command in order to study its capabilities. After lengthy negotiations and disputes, in February 2013, the United States and Embraer signed a contract under which the A-29 aircraft will be built under license at one of the American enterprises. The existing contract involves the construction of 20 attack aircraft, which in the future will be supported from the air by special units.
Currently, the Brazilian company Embraer is negotiating with several potential buyers at once. Aircraft EMB-314 Super Tucano interested the Air Forces of Afghanistan, Honduras, Paraguay and other countries. All of these states intend to improve the capabilities of their strike aircraft through new relatively cheap Brazilian-made aircraft.
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Over the three decades during which Brazil and other countries have been building various aircraft of the Tucano family, a total of almost a thousand aircraft of various modifications have been produced. The total number of EMB-312 aircraft exceeded 650 units. British aircraft manufacturers have built around 150 Short Tucano trainers. Finally, over the past 10-12 years, Embraer has built and delivered about 160-170 Super Tucano aircraft to customers. Most of the aircraft built are still in operation in several countries. In addition, the possible signing of new contracts suggests an imminent increase in the number of built aircraft of various modifications of the same family. Thus, the EMB-312 Tucano project is rightfully one of the most successful in the history of the Brazilian aircraft industry.
