PAF gets six A-29B Super Tucano combat support aircraft

October 13, 2020

The six A-29B Super Tucano closed air support aircraft was formally accepted by the Philippine Air Force in a ceremony on Tuesday.

The ceremony that was led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was also attended by PAF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Allen Paredes, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Gen. Gilbert Gapay and Ambassador of Brazil to the Philippines Rodrigo Do Amaral Souza.

Blessing of the A-29B aircraft was done during the ceremony.

In his speech, Lorenzana emphasized that the procurement of the A-29B is another milestone in the modernization of the military.

"I'm very happy and delighted to personally witness another milestone in the modernization of our armed forces, today's event this Super Tucanos is among the top government priorities over the past year," he said.

"It has been a dream of the PAF to acquire combat support aircraft like this one for a long time and today this is the fulfillment of that dream," said Lorenzana.

"The challenge is now with the PAF to effectively utilize maintain and maximize the use of this aircraft," he added.

Lorenzana said having six A-29B aircraft is good but more of this is much better.

"I was discussing with the commanding general a while ago that having six Super Tucanos is good but maybe six more will be better," he said. Robina Asido