The Paraguayan Air Force (FAP) brought together its six Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos and newly arrived Cessna 408 SkyCourier at a ceremony that highlighted an unusual period of fleet renewal for the service.
The event at the First Air Brigade at Silvio Pettirossi formally welcomed the sixth A-29 and the first SkyCourier. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña attended the ceremony.
All seven aircraft were delivered new from the factory between 2025 and 2026, a significant number for an air force that made relatively few such acquisitions for decades and continues to operate aircraft received in the 1980s.
Paraguay ordered the six A-29s from Embraer in 2024 for approximately US$105 million. The first four arrived in June 2025, when FAP commander Gen. Julio Fullaondo described the program as the country's most important defense acquisition in 38 years.
The comparison dates back to Paraguay's acquisition of six EMB-312 Tucanos in 1987. The predecessor of the Super Tucano was also produced by Embraer and served for decades as one of the FAP's principal aircraft types.
The new A-29s equip the Aerotactical Group and are primarily intended for airspace defense and missions against illegal flights. Their introduction coincides with upgrades to Paraguay's surveillance network, including radars and command-and-control systems.
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October 07, 2026
October 07, 2026
The other aircraft presented at the ceremony was the Cessna 408 SkyCourier, which arrived in Paraguay in early October. Acquired for approximately US$11.3 million with funding from Itaipu Binacional, the twin-engine aircraft will serve with the Air Transport Group for aeromedical support and humanitarian response missions.
The SkyCourier also begins the renewal of a transport fleet that still includes CASA C-212s acquired in 1984. The Paraguayan aircraft is among the first military examples of Textron Aviation's SkyCourier.
A-29 Super Tucano | FAP 
A-29 Super Tucano | FAP 
The SkyCourier and the six A-29 | FAP
Before the current renewal cycle, one of the FAP's most recent purchases of factory-new aircraft came in 2021, when it received two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EXs. Other additions over the intervening decades included used or donated aircraft and existing Paraguayan aircraft returned to service after modernization.
With the sixth Super Tucano delivered, Paraguay has completed its current A-29 order. The arrival of the SkyCourier opens another phase of fleet renewal as the FAP begins replacing transport aircraft that have served for more than four decades.
