Afghanistan welcomes final batch of A-29s
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has received its final four A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft out of 26 ordered from the US.
‘The AAF now has the capacity to plan and implement operations independently,’ AAF Commander Lt Gen Abdul Fahim Ramin said on 17 September in a ceremony marking the arrival of the aircraft.
According to the Afghanistan MoD, the A-29 fleet is equipped with machine guns, rockets, and laser-guided bombs.
In February 2013, the USAF awarded prime contractor Sierra Nevada a contract to build 20 Super Tucanos, given the US designation A-29, to provide a light air support capability for the AAF. The first was delivered to the USAF in September 2014.
This indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract was later extended to 26 aircraft. Nine of these are employed by the USAF for training AAF pilots and engineers.
Shephard Defence Insight estimates an out-of-service date of 2039 for the Afghan A-29 fleet.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
![German Navy in “ramp-up” phase as it welcomes first NH90 Sea Tiger delivery]()
German Navy in “ramp-up” phase as it welcomes first NH90 Sea Tiger delivery
With all 31 aircraft set to be delivered by 2030, the helicopters will gradually replace the ageing Sea Lynx fleet which are due to be retired in 2026.
-
![The future is here: Sixth-gen air dominance]()
The future is here: Sixth-gen air dominance
How RTX is equipping the military airspace – for today’s fleet and tomorrow’s fight.
-
![Will fresh FCAS talks resolve political turmoil?]()
Will fresh FCAS talks resolve political turmoil?
German, French and Spanish leadership set an end-of-year deadline to decide the fate of the Future Combat Air System programme which has struggled with a political stalemate for the latter half of 2025.
-
![Germany acquires additional 20 H145M helicopters]()
Germany acquires additional 20 H145M helicopters
The order for the extra helicopters comes from an agreement penned in December 2023, with the German Army receiving the bulk of the platforms.
-
![Anduril UK and GKN Aerospace collaborate on British Army ACP bid]()
Anduril UK and GKN Aerospace collaborate on British Army ACP bid
The pair will submit their demonstrator concept for Project Nyx, a development project for the British Army’s Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform.
-
![US Army command’s Picatinny CLIK common lethal drone interface makes progress]()
US Army command’s Picatinny CLIK common lethal drone interface makes progress
The Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit is designed to overcome the issue of unique integration methods between lethal payloads and drones as well as avoiding problematic acquisition conditions created by vendor lock.
