Brazil’s Embraer last week confirmed signing the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) for the sale of 24 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft that will be used on border patrol missions and for pilot training.

“We are honored to expand our relationship with the Ecuadorian government, which already operates many Embraer aircraft models,” Orlando Jose Ferreira Neto, executive vice president, defense and government market, said in a statement. “The Super Tucano is the ideal aircraft for surveillance and training missions and we are certain it will fully meet the needs of the Ecuadorian Air Force.”

According to the company, relations between Embraer and the Ecuadorian government have become much closer in recent years.

TAME Linea Aerea del Ecuador, a state-owned airline, currently operates two Embraer 170 and three Embraer 190 jets.

In September, Embraer delivered a 50-seat ERJ 145 jet to the state-owned Petroecuador company that uses the aircraft to transport employees between its business units within the country. In December FAE received a 13-seat Legacy 600 jet.

With the latest Ecuadorian contract, which was finalized last year, Embraer has now sold a total of 169 of the tandem seat Super Tucano planes.

The deal with FAE includes an extensive Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) package and an advanced Training and Operation Support System (TOSS), covering not only the aircraft, but also ground support stations and a flight simulator, Embraer said.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2009.

This is the fourth export contract signed by Embraer to supply Super Tucano aircraft to a Latin American air force.

In August 2008, the company announced a contract with the Chilean Air Force (FACh) for the sale of 12 aircraft, and at the beginning of 2009 it confirmed the sale of eight planes to the Dominican Republic Air Force.

The Super Tucano currently operates in the air forces of Brazil and Colombia, successfully carrying out border patrol and other missions.