The FMA IA 58 Pucará (Quechua: Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones.

The first was an extended Pucará airframe with pressurized cabin for six passengers, equipped with Astafan turbofan engines for light transport and photography duties.

The third was denominated IA-60 and was an advanced trainer and light attack platform powered by two Astafans conserving the basic airframe and canopy of the Pucará with T-tail incorporating high wings.

The clean aerodynamic design allows the Pucará to reach relatively high speed, higher than the American OV-10 Bronco, another COIN aircraft.

They had their operational debut late in 1975, when a number of Pucarás carried out counter-insurgency strikes from Córdoba against Communist ERP guerillas in Tucumán Province as part of Operativo Independencia.

Many of the Pucarás remaining on the mainland were moved to Puerto Santa Cruz or Comodoro Rivadavia in southern Argentina where they were closer to the Falklands if needed for reinforcements, and were used to perform coastal surveillance.

Pucarás operated from Port Stanley airport and two small grass improvised airfields at Goose Green and Pebble Island.

[citation needed] Three Pucarás were destroyed and one of their pilots killed at Goose Green by cluster bombs dropped by 800 NAS Sea Harriers on 1 May 1982.

Major Carlos Tomba, the pilot of the aircraft shot down by Cmdr Ward, survived the ejection and was recovered by friendly forces.

[21][22] Two Pucarás shot down a Royal Marines Scout helicopter with 7.62 mm machine gun fire on 28 May, while it was on a casualty evacuation mission during the Battle of Goose Green.

[24] Also on the 28 May 2 Para shot down a Pucará with small arms fire after it launched rockets on British troops (without causing any casualties), during the Battle of Goose Green.

CA-605 was hit by ground fire over the Kilaly lagoon, but managed to land at SLAF Palaly; it is on display at the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum.

During fierce fighting in the Northern Province during Operation Leap Forward, CA-601 was shot down by a MPADS in July 1995, killing its pilot Flight Lieutenant Dilhan Perera.

[26] CA-604 was destroyed while on a night bombing sortie from what appears to have been a premature ordnance detonation; its pilot Flight Lieutenant R. A. U. P. Rajapaksa ejected safely.

Following the accident the sole remaining aircraft, CA-602, was retired in 1997 with Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships taking over the role of close air support, followed by Mikoyan MiG-27s.

[27][28][29][30][31] In May 1982, at the peak of the Falklands War, the Argentine Air Force, in collaboration with the Navy, outfitted a prototype, AX-04, with pylons to mount Mark 13 torpedoes.

[citation needed] The Uruguayan Air Force updated its fleet with the incorporation of Litton LTN-211 and GPS omega navigation systems.

Some of the updated components include a new set of communications hardware, DME, ELT, IFF, GPS, EADI, EHSI, RWR, HUD, DEFA 554 cannon and new PT6A-62 950shp engine instead of the original Turbomeca Astazou.

The Uruguayan Air Force also showed interest in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) program and installation of new engines offered by FAdeA.

[41] In March 1983, negotiations for two Pucarás were going with Central African Republic Air Force for US$9.5 million including support, training and spare parts.

[41] In March 1985, a new contract with the Iraqi Air Force, which was later disbanded due political foreign issues, was signed with Iraq for 20 IA-58A with 20 more on option for U$76 million.