The Short Tucano is a two-seat turboprop basic trainer built by Short Brothers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a licence-built version of the Brazilian Embraer EMB 312 Tucano. On 14 February 1986, the prototype conducted its maiden flight in Brazil before being delivered to Shorts to be used as a pattern aircraft and modified to meet Royal Air Force (RAF) requirements and used for trials and demonstrations. The first Short-assembled aircraft flew on 30 December 1986; deliveries to the RAF commenced during June 1988. The final example of the type was completed in 1995. Maintenance and support of the RAF's Tucano fleet was typically outsourced to several private companies. The RAF was the Tucano's primary operator, although export sales have been achieved with the nations of Kenya and Kuwait. A handful have also been purchased and piloted by private individuals. On 25 October 2019, the Tucano was withdrawn from RAF service and was replaced by the Beechcraft T-6Cs. Design and development Origins Development of the Short Tucano commenced in May 1984, following an agreement between Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Northern Ireland aviation firm Short Brothers to collaborate on a response to an outstanding British requirement, which sought a replacement for the aging BAC Jet Provost basic trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF). For this purpose, the RAF had issued Air Staff Target 412, defining the performance criteria it desire for a new high-performance turboprop-powered basic trainer. A short list was compiled of various aircraft that had been submitted in response; other than the Tucano, the types considered were the Swiss Pilatus PC-9, the British NDN-1T Turbo-Firecracker and the Australian Aircraft Consortium's (AAC) A.20 Wamira II. During 1984, Embraer dispatched the seventh EMB-312 airframe off the production line to Shorts, where it received numerous modifications in order to meet the AST-412 requirements. During September 1984, this same aircraft was displayed at the Farnborough Airshow; by this point, it had been equipped with an uprated PT6A-25C2 engine and a ventral air brake, which reportedly enabled the Tucano to achieve the required stall speed of 60 kn. However, tests undertaken at MOD Boscombe Down later on that year indicated the need to re-engine the aircraft in order to satisfy the RAF's requirement for time to height; accordingly, the Garrett TPE331 was selected. On 21 March 1985, the Short Tucano proposal was declared the winner of the AST.412, receiving a contract