With legal fights lingering and budget battles waging in the nation’s capital, Jacksonville International Airport entered the military aircraft manufacturing business on Tuesday.
Brazilian plane maker Embraer stuck with plans to assemble military aircraft at Jacksonville International Airport for more than a year. In doing so, the company outlasted one lawsuit between a competitor and the government, two U.S. Department of Defense application processes and three expired options to lease a JIA hangar.
Gov. Rick Scott, in his second visit to Brevard County in as many days, was on hand to break ground for Embraer jet’s Engineering and Technology Center USA.
For a journalist, the best part of attending the annual EAA AirVenture extravaganza in Oshkosh, Wis., is that often serendipity reigns, and the result is an entirely unexpected bonus, in this case the opportunity to fly Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano light attack turboprop.
With its ability to deliver a combination of rockets, missiles and bombs, the Brazilian-made Super Tucano has become the most feared guardian of the Dominican Republic’s airspace. Visitors to San Isidro Air Base, located 25 kilometers east of Santo Domingo, like to be photographed near the aircraft, and the civilian population expresses admiration when the sleek turboprops cross the Caribbean sky during special demonstrations.
At the height of the space shuttle program, there were 18,000 people working at the Kennedy Space Center. When it ended last summer, that number dropped by more than half almost immediately.
The Dominican Republic will support Haiti with combat planes and patrol boats in the fight against drug trafficking, by President Leonel Fernández’s express order.
While the investment in Super Tucano production is on hold — for the moment — in Jacksonville, Fla., Embraer North America continues to invest in the U.S. and hire more aerospace workers in Melbourne, Fla
Jacksonville has a long history of supporting the military and its national security role.
This edition features a story on the Afghan Air Force acquiring an A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. Hosted by Staff Sgt. Mike Hutchinson. Also available in high definition.