Further information Uruguay's search for an A-37B Dragonfly replacement. I've had another look at the report in newspaper Búsqueda which in late April this year reported that an Air Force delegation was traveling to Italy to have another look at the Leonardo 346 - the article quote the Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya Commander General Luis Heber de León and he mentions that after the acquisition of former Spanish KC-130's a couple of years ago, attention turned to the combat aircraft requirement and he lists the aircraft being considered (translation from the original text):
"Once the acquisition of the Hercules was closed, the FAU has technically analyzed different combat aircraft that are considered “suitable for Uruguay's air defense operation,” De León explained. Among them were the Yak-130, a light attack aircraft introduced to the market in 2010 by the Russian company Yakovlev; the L-15 Falcon, a supersonic aircraft operational since 2008 by the Chinese Hongdu, and the L-39NG, in operation since 2018 and run by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody. In April of last year, the then Minister of Defense, Javier García, traveled to Brazil to hold negotiations for the EMB 314 Super Tucano, manufactured by the Brazilian Embraer and in service since 2003. The InfoDefensa portal reported that the purchase was finally ruled out."
So this latest information sums up the very protracted process and seems to make it clear the L-15 is still in the running.
This is an election year in Uruguay and military expenditures are not popular so this may simply be a case of waiting until after that to announce something
The situation of the 2nd Fighter Squadron of the FAU is critical with no more than 1-2 A-37's operational at any one time.
