On Tuesday, 6th of March, an Embraer A-29 Super Tucano turboprop attack aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) intercepted a twin-engine Piper Seneca turboprop with 500 kg cocaine cargo flying over the country’s airspace without a flight plan.
According the Federal Police, the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) intercepted the privately owned Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II aircraft with registration PR-EBF with more than 500 kg of cocaine at around 2 pm EST on Tuesday (6/3/18), in the region of Nova Fernandópolis (MT).
The Brazilian Air Force aims to root out illegal aerial activity in the border regions with Bolivia and Paraguay, used for smuggling cocaine. The operation involves around 800 military personnel and more than 30 aircraft, including E-99 airborne early warning and control aircraft, R-35A and RA-1 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as AH-2 Sabre and H-60 Black Hawk combat helicopters.
The Super Tucano is designed to carry a fighter’s typical array of weapons — either smart or conventional. Its armament line-up is fully integrated with its avionics system and comprises most advanced ordnance and sensors.
In addition to its two internal machine guns, the Super Tucano can be configured with additional underwing armament, such as two 20mm gun pods or .50″ machine guns, thereby significantly increasing its firepower for missions requiring air-to-ground saturation.
Outboard stations allow the loading and firing of short-range air-air missiles of the AIM-9 class.
All stations can be loaded with the Mk 81 or Mk 82 (conventional or equipped with guidance kits) bombs, SBAT-70/19 or LAU-68 rocket launchers.
