During the celebration of its 92 years, the Chilean Air Force (FACh) exhibited one of its A-29B Super Tucano loaded with two AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles. This is the first time that the Embraer attack turboprop is seen with the North American armament.
The aircraft was loaded with missiles during the ceremony marking the 92nd anniversary of the creation of the FACh, on 21/03, at Cerro Moreno Air Base, in Antofagasta, as observed by the Argentine portal Pucara Defensa.
“Although there is no information that the said missile has been effectively evaluated in the Super Tucano, these are already used by the F-5E Tigre III and F-16 Fighting Falcon of the force and could eventually be integrated into the armament of the Super Tucano”, says the article.
If the integration of the AGM-65 with the A-29 is confirmed, Chile would become the first country to use this weapon with the Super Tucano. According to Air Force Magazine, the A-29 that was carrying the two Mavericks belongs to the Grupo de Aviación Nº1 of Los Condores Air Force Base.
The A-29 Super Tucano has already received integration with laser-guided bombs, such as the Paveway II, and heat-guided air-to-air missiles. The model was also used to test the national GPS-guided SMKB-82 bomb. However, an A-29 has never been seen with air-to-ground missiles until today.
An infographic from Embraer itself shows that the aircraft would be receiving integration with small diameter pumps (SDB), light air-to-ground missiles and air-to-ground missiles of the AGM-114 Hellfire class.
The AGM-65 is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems, but its development began in the 1960s by the Hughes Aircraft Company. The armament has a configuration similar to the AIM-54 Phoenix and AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles and the MIM-23 Hawk anti-aircraft missile.
The version used by Chile, the AGM-65F/G, is guided by infrared imaging and can reach targets 24 km away. This variant also has a 24 kg WDU-136/B warhead. Other versions have smaller warheads with different guidance systems such as laser, TV and electro-optical sensor.
Maverick has been integrated into at least 12 aircraft and has already been exported to around 40 countries.
