A WW2-style attack aircraft? In the 21st century?

Super Tucano, a World War II attack aircraft, in the 21st century? Such a thought may easily arise when you see a propeller-driven aircraft with machine guns in the wing, in a time when stealth fighters, hypersonic missiles and smart bombs rule the sky. But don't rush to conclusions, because this bird has found its place in the sky. Hello gators, Sky here, and I present to you a military police attack aircraft, the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano. To understand why the Super Tucano is exactly like this, you need to figure out what problem it is supposed to solve. And this problem was chronic for its homeland, Brazil. A massive country covered in jungle and huge rivers, don't forget we have the Amazon here, had to be protected somehow. In order to completely cover such a territory using conventional methods, they had to build an infrastructure of incredible scale, and this is unreal. On the other hand, it was necessary to protect not so much from foreign invasions, but from criminal elements, smugglers, mafia, cartels and all sorts of revolutionaries. And for this task, in principle, aviation was suitable. But again, with nuances. Practice has shown that conventional combat jets and helicopters were not particularly effective in such work, and too expensive. Another aircraft was needed, capable of long patrols in various conditions, as well as attacking various local targets anywhere in the country. Hmm, where to get one? How to make one? Embraer, as luck would have it, already had a very interesting aircraft, the EMB-312 Tucano. This aircraft was born at the dawn of Embraer's formation in the 1970s, and was a solution to another problem the country was facing, the need for an effective and cheap training aircraft for the air force. The solution seemed exotic even then, a light single-engine turboprop aircraft of a classic design, two-seater, with excellent visibility, ejection seats, basic training functionality, and potentially combat capabilities. The flight performance compared to jet machines was of course modest, but for a flying trainer this was not critical. And it proved its worth, being cheap, reliable, and versatile. And with the jump in fuel prices at that time, it became more relevant than ever, not only in Brazil, but also in many other countries. Yes, it was the Tucano that became one of Embraer's first commercial successes on the international market. An interesting point, considering that now the Brazilians are known mainly for their civil airliners. Another curious detail accompanied the Tucano's service, during which there were frequent cases when it was used not only as a training aircraft, but also as an air support tool for police and military operations. This was a very interesting nuance, which Embraer decided to promote, offering its air force a kind of light and cheap attack aircraft. Here in the words attack aircraft, we of course imagine something like this. Or like this. Angry, jet powered, armored, and armed to the teeth machines. How can this toy be compared to them? And here we remember the specifics of Brazil. Machines like the A-10 or Su-25 were created in the conditions of the cold war, and their main targets were supposed to be huge enemy armies, with motorized columns and tank fists. The South American criminal organizations are dangerous guys of course, but still, not that dangerous. And the future Brazilian would have to go, not against tanks and attack helicopters, but against bandits, buggies, and light aircraft. The military liked the idea, and in 1995, the project with the working index ALX received funding, and by 1999, the new aircraft had already flown. During the development, the basic Tucano was seriously redesigned, so the aircraft was recognized as new, with a new index and name, the Embraer EMB-314, also known as the A-29 Super Tucano. And the alterations here were very serious. The plane became larger, the structure was reinforced and armored to withstand high overloads and exposure to an aggressive external environment, humidity, heat, and bullets. The plane became considerably heavier, while the old bird weighed a little more than 3 tons, the Super Tucano reached almost 5.5 tons. At the same time, the heavier plane had to be more fast and maneuverable, and it was equipped with the new Pratt Whitney PT6A-68C engine, reaching 1600 horsepower, twice as powerful as the previous model. This had a great impact on flight performance. Maximum speed is 320 knots, range with a full armament is 720 miles, patrol duration is up to 8.5 hours, service ceiling is 10,660 meters. A special advantage of the turboprop in assault operations is its minimum speed, only 80 knots, the speed of a car on a highway, not a helicopter of course, but it is quite difficult to hide from it. The onboard equipment here is like that of a full-fledged combat aircraft. The cockpit is tandem, pressurized with ejection seats. Everything is in place, radar, onboard computer, self-defense systems and all that. Simplified yes, but available. The aircraft can operate both independently and with the support of, for example, airborne command posts and reconnaissance aircraft. And of course, the main demand of the military. The Super Tucano is armed to the teeth. Integrated 12.7mm machine guns, unguided and guided air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, guided and free-falling aerial bombs, a mountain of various containers with weapons, sighting and observation equipment, and so on. A whole ton and a half on five suspension points, a wide menu for all occasions. I would not go against a full-fledged modern army on it, but armed groups most likely will not enjoy meeting such a bird. The first operator of the Super Tucano was, naturally, Brazil, which ordered 99 aircraft. Service began almost immediately after the start of deliveries in 2003, with the aircraft flying long patrols and occasionally attacking targets, ranging from camps and small bases, to aircraft loaded with all sorts of bad-for-your-health cargo. The Super Tucano demonstrated excellent performance, and its cost hovered around $10 million. For a modern combat aircraft, this figure seems laughable. And this attracted customers from other countries. Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Honduras. Everywhere you need to fight bandits, the A-29 came in very handy. Then came exports to faraway countries. The planes went to the air forces of the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as to Lebanon, Mauritania, and Nigeria. Localization by key partners did not bypass the Super Tucano. Thus, Portugal ordered a batch of attack aircraft, modifying them to the A-29N version, adapted to NATO standards. And of course, the United States. At first, American private military companies like Blackwater became interested in the Brazilian aircraft, and later, the government military. The Pentagon was looking for cheap and adaptive solutions to combat militarized groups, the subject close to Tucano. In 2008, Embraer, in partnership with Sierra Nevada Corporation, launched the production of the A-29 in the United States, both for local military like the Special Operations Forces, and for export. The US, naturally, actively supplied the aircraft to Afghanistan. Several dozen attack aircraft entered the local air force, and were used quite actively. Although there was not that much success. After the US armed forces left, the Taliban quickly captured the entire country. The surviving aircraft were taken by them at the airfields, although some managed to escape to the neighbors. By 2025, about 300 aircraft have been delivered, serving in the armies of 16 countries. It's hard to call this a stunning success, but Embraer can be quite pleased with itself. Nowadays, there are heated discussions about the aircraft's prospects. The world has changed, the skies are being conquered by unmanned vehicles, and some say that the Super Tucano concept is starting to lose sense in comparison with attack drones, which often perform similar tasks. Others counter this opinion by saying that the Super Tucano is more versatile, can operate more crudely, it's hard to imagine a Reaper shooting at a target with machine guns in a dive, and it's also cheaper than many advanced attack drones. In addition, the confrontation between them may not be on the market, but directly, the aircraft can effectively shoot down various reconnaissance and kamikaze drones, while the same role performed by air defense systems and fighters is much more expensive. Where this confrontation will lead them, time will tell. In any case, I wish all of them peaceful skies and fewer bandits on the ground. And to you aviation lovers, fast flights on unarmed planes, and soft landings.