Panama has ordered four E-314 Super Tucano light attack aircraft for the National Air and Navy Service (SENAN).

This was announced by Embraer during the LAAD Defense & Security defense exhibition.

The order is part of a program to reorganize and expand operational capabilities.

Thus, Panama has become the eighth Latin American country to choose the Super Tucano, along with Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic.

Uruguay and Paraguay ordered them only last year, so in fact, the number of operators in the region has almost doubled in the last few years.

The terms on which Panama will purchase them are not known. Since the manufacturer is quite flexible in its implementation, it could be different.

As an example, Paraguay purchased 6 EMB-314/A-29 Super Tucano by taking a loan of almost $ 104 million from the Brazilian bank BNDES.

For the Uruguayan Air Force , six Super Tucano aircraft are to be purchased for $100 million. Payment of the bill will be spread over 10-15 years

“Thanks to its operational flexibility and reliability, the aircraft is used for a variety of missions such as control of illegal activities, border monitoring, reconnaissance and training,” Embraer said.

Embraer indicates that it has already fulfilled more than 290 orders for these aircraft, which already have 580,000 hours of flight time in 20 countries.

The aircraft performs a wide range of missions, such as air patrol, special operations, air and tactical coordinator (TAC), ISR, border surveillance, reconnaissance, air support, as well as basic, operational and advanced pilot training.

For SENAN, this will be the first aircraft with strike capabilities, although they have a Cessna 208, their current variant performs aeromedical evacuation functions.