The A-29 Super Tucano carries a wide variety of weapons, including precision-guided munitions, and was designed to be a low-cost system operated in low-threat environments.

The ALX was then specified as a turboprop engine plane with a long range and autonomy, able to operate night and day, in any meteorological conditions, and able to land on short airfields lacking infrastructure.

It is powered by a more powerful 1,600 shp (1,200 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68C engine (compared to the EMB-312's 750 shp (560 kW) powerplant); has a strengthened airframe to sustain higher g loads and increase fatigue life to 8,000–12,000 hours in operational environments; a reinforced landing gear to handle greater takeoff weights and heavier stores load, up to 1,550 kilograms (3,420 lb); Kevlar armour protection; two internal, wing-mounted .50 cal.

machine guns (with 200 rounds of ammunition each);[7] capacity to carry various ordnance on five weapon hardpoints including Giat NC621 20 mm cannon pods, Mk 81/82 bombs, MAA-1 Piranha air-to-air missiles (AAMs), BLG-252 cluster bombs, and SBAT-70/19 or LAU-68A/G rocket pods on its underwing stations; and has a night-vision goggle-compatible "glass cockpit" with hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls; provision for a datalink; a video camera and recorder; an embedded mission-planning capability; forward-looking infrared; chaff/flare dispensers; missile approach warning receiver systems and radar warning receivers; and zero-zero ejection seats.

The simulation continued for another year to complete the engine-fatigue life test and crack-propagation studies for a damage-tolerance analysis program of conducted by Embraer and the Aeronautics and Space Institute.

[13] MPS and MDS was enhanced with MAK's 3D visualization solution to support airforces pre-existing data, including GIS, Web-based servers and a plug-in for custom terrain formats.

[14] In 2012, Boeing Defense, Space & Security was selected to integrate the Joint Direct Attack Munition and Small Diameter Bomb to the Super Tucano.

On 22 March 2018, the AAF deployed a GBU-58 Paveway II 250 lb (113.4 kg) bomb from an A-29 in combat, marking the first time the service had dropped a laser-guided weapon against the Taliban.

A-29s from Maringá, Dourados, and Campo Grande, and Brazilian upgraded Northrop F-5 Tiger II/F-5EMs from Canoas, intercepted a total of 33 aircraft during Operation Ágata 2 in this area.

A-1 (AMX), Northrop F-5 Tiger II/ F-5EM and A-29s from Tabatinga, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Vilhena, and Porto Velho were employed in defending air space, supported by airborne early warning and control E-99, equipped with a 450-km-range radar capable of detecting low-flying aircraft, and R-99, remote sensing and surveillance.

[47] On 18 January 2007, a squadron of Colombian Air Force Super Tucanos launched the first-ever combat mission of its type, attacking FARC positions in the jungle with Mark 82 bombs.

[49] In 2008, during "Operation Phoenix", a Colombian Air Force Super Tucano used Griffin laser-guided bombs to destroy a guerrilla cell inside Ecuador and kill the second-in-command chief of FARC, Raúl Reyes.

[51] On 2 October 2010, during Operation Darién, Super Tucanos used infrared cameras to spot and bombard the FARC 57th front in the Chocó Department, just a kilometer away from the Panama border.

[54][55] The Espada de Honor War Plan was an aggressive Colombian counterinsurgency strategy that aimed to dismantle FARC's structure, both militarily and financially.

[56] During Operacion Faraón, at the dawn of 21 March 2012, five Super Tucanos bombarded the FARC's 10th Front guerrilla camp in Arauca, near the Venezuelan border, killing 33 rebels.

[61] On 6 June 2012, during a minute and half bombardment over FARC's 37th front located in northern Antioquia Department, five Super Tucanos dropped 250-kg bombs, killing eight rebels.

[62] In September, Super Tucanos provided reconnaissance and close air support during an "Omega" operation, during which seven terrorists were gunned down and four were captured, including "Fredy Cooper", the 7th front's leader of the Public Order Company.

[67] In August 2001, Embraer announced the signing of a contract with the Dominican Republic for 10 Super Tucanos, to use for pilot training, internal security, border patrol and counter-narcotics trafficking missions.

"[70] In August 2011, the Dominican Air Force said that since taking delivery of the Super Tucanos in 2009, it has driven away drug flights to the point that they no longer enter the country's airspace.

[71] In May 2012, the Dominican president Leonel Fernández gave a cooperative order for the armed forces to support a fleet of Super Tucanos for the antidrug fight on Haiti.

The deal covers the supply of 24 Super Tucanos to replace Ecuador's aging fleet of Vietnam-era Cessna A-37 Dragonfly strike aircraft, and help reassert control over the country's airspace.

[79] On 17 October 2014, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced the go-ahead for acquiring two new A-29s by the FAH following approval from the country's National Council for Security and Defence.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro added that state aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia would perform maintenance work, and may also manufacture some components.

While Indonesia could have made a unified choice to replace its OV-10 light attack and BAE Hawk Mk.53 trainer fleets with a multirole jet, the demands of forward air control and counterinsurgency wars give slower and more stable platforms an advantage.

In late 2017, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed the contract to purchase six for the Close Air Support Aircraft acquisition project as included in the AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 1 phase.

[132] In August 2011, the Guatemalan Air Force requested credit approval of $166 million to buy six EMB-314s, control centers, radar, and equipment, in the context of a programme named "C4I".

[140][141] In March 2011, a Brazilian federal representative spoke on the Unasur treaty, stating that it could promote the surveillance integration in the Amazon Basin and facilitate the sale of 12 Super Tucanos and upgrade kits for 20 Peruvian EMB-312s.

[149] It was reported in early 2015 that the UAE is negotiating with Embraer the purchase of 24 Super Tucanos, the deal would include six aircraft from Brazilian Air Force inventory for immediate delivery.

[152] In December 2022, the Brazilian media reported a Ukrainian interest in the Super Tucano, to equip its air force for the Russo-Ukrainian War; however, the sale was blocked by the Bolsonaro administration.

[153] A diplomatic effort by the United States to persuade the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to unblock the deal, has been reported.