Sierra Nevada wins a $172mn contract to deliver six A-29 aircraft to Lebanon

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World Aviation Defense & Security News - Lebanon
 
 
Sierra Nevada wins a $172mn contract to deliver six A-29 aircraft to Lebanon
 
Sierra Nevada has been awarded a $172,500,000 contract for delivery of six A-29 aircraft to Lebanon. The US-based company will provide six A-29 aircraft with associated support and equipment, as wells as spares, support equipment, alternate mission equipment, interim contractor support, and engineering technical services for the six aircraft, the US DoD released on Oct. 31, 2015.
     
Sierra Nevada wins a 172mn contract to deliver six A 29 aircraft to Lebanon 640 001Sierra Nevada will deliver six A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft to Lebanon
     
The work will be performed at Mary Esther, Florida, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2019. "This contract is 100 percent foreign military sales for the republic of Lebanon. The US Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity," the US DoD said.

The US State Department approved this possible foreign military sales (FMS) to Lebanon on last June. In addition to the aircraft, Lebanon also ordered , eight PT6A-68A Turboprop engines, eight ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing Systems, two thousand Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems, and eight AN/AAR-60(V)2 Missile Launch Detection Systems.

The purchase of these aircraft will benefit Lebanon with Close Air Support (CAS) platform that will enable the country to meet present and future challenges posed by internal and border security threats.

The A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft is an enhanced version, with faster speed and higher altitude, of the EMB-312 Tucano trainer aircraft.

The aircraft is armed with two wing-mounted 12.7mm machine guns with a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds a minute and is capable of carrying general-purpose bombs and guided air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles.