Tactical Air Defense Services is pleased to announce that its Embraer 314 Super Tucano aircraft (the "Super Tucano") that it acquired on lease through a joint-venture Services Agreement with Tactical Air Support is finally delivered and flying.
Due to a significant delay caused by administrative and scheduled maintenance requirements, delivery of the Super Tucano in contract-ready condition was delayed by approximately 3 months.
Despite the significant delay, however, the Super Tucano was successfully flown and delivered last Friday to Tac-Air's aviation base in Reno, Nevada by Michael "Ratso" Cariello, TADF's Chief Pilot and COO.
Mr. Cariello is one of the few pilots in the U.S. currently approved to fly a Super Tucano, and is spearheading the Super Tucano joint operations for TADF. Mr. Cariello served in the U.S. Marine Corp for some 14 years including a 3-year appointment as Adversary Officer at the Top Gun Fighter Weapons School for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Mr. Cariello also served as the 767 Program Manager and Chief Pilot for Blackwater, Inc., previously one of the largest U.S. Defense contractors in Iraq from 2005 through 2007.
The Embraer 314 Super Tucano is a specialty military aircraft renowned for its capabilities in counter-insurgency and air-to-ground bombing, and is the only one of its kind offered in the U.S. through a commercial Aerospace/Defense services contractor.
