Blackwater purchased a fighter for "training"

[Fishu]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,361322,00.html

SAO PAULO, Brazil —  A subsidiary of U.S. military security contractor Blackwater Worldwide has purchased a fighter plane from the Brazilian aviation company Embraer, a Brazilian newspaper reported Sunday.

The 314-B1 Super Tucano propeller-driven fighter — the same used by the Brazilian military — was bought for US$4.5 million and delivered to EP Aviation at the end of February, according to the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.

The report included the plane's registration number with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and the FAA Web site confirmed it is registered by EP Aviation.

It was not clear if it was Embraer's first sale of a military-style aircraft to a private company. EP Aviation has 33 planes and helicopters registered with the FAA, according to the agency's Web site, only one of which is from Embraer.

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The newspaper reported that Blackwater president Gary Jackson said the plane would be used for training

Quite an expensive trainer wouldn't you think?

I'd like to know what kind of training purposes there can be for a fighter other than to train pilots to fly a fighter and get efficient in the use of the armament. For any other purposes it's possible to buy a much cheaper plane.

[Toad]

I think Blackwater is prepping for the invasion of Finland that's on the sked for right after Obama wins. 


They probably got some African contract; there's a lot of airborne merc work still going on down there.

[Holden McGroin]

Geeze they could have purchased this: current bid $12,100

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/L-29-Jet-Trainer_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ63679QQihZ020QQitemZ300228297579QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[cpxxx]

The newspaper reported that Blackwater president Gary Jackson said the plane would be used for training

I should think so, given that it is a trainer and not by any stretch of the imagination a 'fighter'. Even by  Foxnews standards. That is taking the proverbials.



It's a basic trainer for the military. The RAF use a modified version for it's training. You can hang things on it for basic counter insurgency work. Rockets and the like. But it's slow enough to be shot down by most anything any guerrilla army has at it's disposal. And in any case, how likely do you think Embraer has sold it ready to drop things?

Nevertheless, exactly what Blackwater intends to do with a strictly military training aircraft is interesting. Could it be simply a training machine intended to simulate air attacks?

[Toad]

Certainly wouldn't surprise me if it was a toy for the CEO that comes with a nice writeoff.

WIKI:

Erik Prince was born into a wealthy family, the youngest child of Edgar D. Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation (an automobile-parts company that introduced lighted vanity mirrors for cars), and Elsa Prince; he has three older sisters.[4] Erik Prince is of Dutch heritage.

Prince earned an airplane pilot's license at age 17

[Fishu]

It's a basic trainer for the military. The RAF use a modified version for it's training. You can hang things on it for basic counter insurgency work. Rockets and the like. But it's slow enough to be shot down by most anything any guerrilla army has at it's disposal. And in any case, how likely do you think Embraer has sold it ready to drop things?

Actually it's a good fighter platform to support ground units against lightly armed enemies, those that Blackwater faces in it's operations. They do already use choppers in combat operations, which of many are rather lightly built and definitely slower targets than the plane. They've lost a couple of choppers to enemy fire.

Super Tucano has been designed to be far more suitable in combat operations than most of the other similar aircrafts that are used solely for training, but which can be equipped with weapons. It was designed for the Brazillian Air Force to intercept illegal aircrafts (drug smugglers) and patrol the borders. Trainer is the second role of the plane, not the first. It is a true fighter, even if it doesn't have jet engines.

It's actually more suitable for intercepting propeller driven aircrafts than the jets are.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtRylXsNL_o

[cpxxx]

Fishu, a fighter is an interceptor of other aircraft. It is not by any stretch of the imagination anything close to a fighter. It's barely a ground attack aircraft. Just because Embraer wants to sell a few to gullible third world countries don't make it so. It's a trainer and yes at a pinch, ground attack against very lightly armed enemies. Like bows and arrows. 

[Fishu]

Fishu, a fighter is an interceptor of other aircraft. It is not by any stretch of the imagination anything close to a fighter. It's barely a ground attack aircraft. Just because Embraer wants to sell a few to gullible third world countries don't make it so. It's a trainer and yes at a pinch, ground attack against very lightly armed enemies. Like bows and arrows. 

Trainers aren't designed with interception and border patrolling first in mind like Super Tucano. It's a "light attack aircraft".

[indy007]

Unless they're smuggling drugs in Turbine Legends, I don't think this would have much of a problem with interceptions.

Performance

Maximum speed: 593 km/h (320 knots, 368 mph)
Range: 4,820 km (2,995 mi)
Service ceiling 10,670 m (35,008 ft)
Rate of climb: 24 m/s (79 ft/s)
Armament

2x 12.7 mm FN Herstal M3P machine guns
1x 20 mm cannon pod below the fuselage
4x 70 mm rocket launcher pods
Conventional and intelligent bombs
2x AIM-9 Sidewinder or MAA-1 Piranha or Python 3/4 air-to-air missiles
External stores on 5 hardpoints

[Vulcan]

IIRC there's a video on youtube of a tucano shooting down a drug aircraft.

Here you go: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=zCT0b3CuBVY

[Bodhi]

The T-6A Texan II varies in price from $4.3 million to just over $6 million and on paper appears to be capable of far less that the Embraer.

Seems to me they got a deal.

[Maverick]

OMG!!!!! Blackwater, teh ebil, will now be able to have air superiority anywhere in teh wurld!!!!!! Oh noes!!!!!
 

[Megalodon]

I should think so, given that it is a trainer and not by any stretch of the imagination a 'fighter'. Even by  Foxnews standards. That is taking the proverbials.

(Image removed from quote.)

It's a basic trainer for the military. The RAF use a modified version for it's training. You can hang things on it for basic counter insurgency work. Rockets and the like. But it's slow enough to be shot down by most anything any guerrilla army has at it's disposal. And in any case, how likely do you think Embraer has sold it ready to drop things?

Nevertheless, exactly what Blackwater intends to do with a strictly military training aircraft is interesting. Could it be simply a training machine intended to simulate air attacks?

Hmmmm,

"The 314 B1 Super Tucano is black and grey and is propeller driven which if you look closely looks pretty similar to that of the World-War 2 fighter plane, the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano which is also named ALX or A-29 is a turboprop aircraft designed for light attack, counter insurgency (COIN) and pilot training missions. It incorporates highly modern avionics and weapons systems which we have listed below. At the moment it is being used by the air forces of Brazil, Colombia and the Dominican Republic and now Blackwater Worldwide has it.

The armament is as follows, 2x 12.7 mm FN Herstal M3P machine guns, 1x 20 mm cannon pod below the fuselage, 4x 70 mm rocket launcher pods, Conventional and intelligent bombs, 2x AIM-9 Sidewinder or MAA-1 Piranha or Python 3/4 air-to-air missiles and External stores on 5 hardpoints. The maximum speed is 593 km/h (320 knots, 368 mph)."

http://trendtoday.blogspot.com/2008/06/314-b1-super-tucano.html

[Mr No Name]

IIRC there's a video on youtube of a tucano shooting down a drug aircraft.

Here you go: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=zCT0b3CuBVY

How many perks do ya reckon he got for that?

[bcadoo]

IIRC there's a video on youtube of a tucano shooting down a drug aircraft.

Here you go: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=zCT0b3CuBVY

Cherry Picker!!