FMA IA 58 Pucará
Fábrica Argentina de Aviones · Argentina · first flew 1969 · fighter
The FMA IA 58 Pucará is an Argentine twin-turboprop counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft designed for low-altitude operations against ground targets and guerrilla forces. It combines tandem crew seating with a heavy armament of cannon, rockets, and bombs.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × turboprop, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 14.25 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Argentine twin-turboprop counter-insurgency aircraft with tandem seating
- Low-set tapered wing with engine nacelles ahead of the wing leading edge
- Used by Argentina during the 1982 Falklands War
Twin-turboprop mid-wing aircraft with a very clean aerodynamic form, tandem bubble canopy, prominent gun ports under the nose, and engine nacelles that extend forward of the wing root.
Specifications
- The FMA IA 58 Pucará has a length of 14.25 m (47 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 14.5 m (48 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 500 km/h (311 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
First flown on 20 August 1969, the Pucará entered Argentine Air Force service in 1975 and saw its most notable operational use during the 1982 Falklands War, where several were destroyed on the ground at Stanley airport and others were captured by British forces.
Variants
The IA 58A is the primary single-seat variant; the IA 58B Pucará Bravo and IA 58C and IA 58D were proposed or built in smaller numbers with different armaments and systems.
Where you'll see it
Served with the Argentine Air Force from 1975 and also exported to Sri Lanka, Colombia, and Uraguay; captured examples were evaluated by the British military after the Falklands conflict.
Related aircraft
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