Security company Blackwater U.S.A. is buying Super Tucano light combat aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. These five ton, single engine, single seat aircraft are built for pilot training, but also perform quite well for counter-insurgency work. Brazil. The Super Tucano is basically a prop driven trainer that is equipped for combat missions. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons, including 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs and missiles.
When private companies are building their own air forces, are we heading back to the future as far as who owns military power?
Much as vigilantes arise when justice fails, if Western governments fail to defeat jihadis, this trend will mean that one day private citizens in the West unhappy with their government's efforts to protect them will be able to wage war on their own.
