The FMA IA 58 Pucará (Quechua: Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capable of operating from unprepared strips when operationally required. The type saw action during the Falklands War and the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Development
In August 1966 the Argentine state aircraft factory, Dirección Nacional de Fabricación e Investigación Aeronáutica (DINFIA), began development of the AX-2, a Counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft to meet a requirement of the Argentine Air Force. The project was promoted by engineer Ricardo Olmedo and became under the guidance of engineer Aníbal Dreidemie, who also designed the IA-52 Guaraní II and the IA-63 Pampa. The chosen layout was a low-wing monoplane powered by two turboprop engines mounted in wing-mounted nacelles and fitted with a T-tail. In order to test the proposed layout, DINFIA first built a full-scale unpowered glider test vehicle, which flew for the first time on 26 December 1967
Role Counter-insurgency aircraft
National originArgentina
Manufacturer Fábrica Militar de Aviones
First flight 20 August 1969
Introduction May 1975
Status In service
Primary users Argentine Air Force
Sri Lankan Air Force (historical)
Uruguayan Air Force (historical)
Produced 1974–1993
Number built 110