Analyst Sees Potential National Guard, Border Patrol Missions

While Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corporation have seen success with the delivery of the first A-29 Super Tucano built in the U.S. for the Afghan Air Force, Teal Group Analyst Richard Aboulafia says that market is likely to be consistent, but limited in its growth potential.

Defense News reports that in an effort to ramp up its first military production in the U.S., the company is proposing the airplane for National Guard missions. Silvanus “Taco” Gilbert, a former US Air Force general and now a vice president at Sierra Nevada, says that the aircraft "makes a great opportunity for those units inside the United States," but also describes conversations between Embraer and the National Guard as "casual."

Aboulafia, meanwhile, says there is theoretically a potential for border security and drug interdiction missions, but the likelihood of such an acquisition is slim. He says it would be almost unprecedented for the Guard to take on a new airplane on its own, and the active duty Air Force has "no real need" for the A-29.

(A-29 Super Tucano pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.embraer.com