Armed Forces Minister Lieutenant General Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez says the actual purchase of 10 Brazilian planes for the Air Force has not yet taken place. According to El Caribe, he also denied that negotiations have even taken place with the seller, Embraer. But the website of the Brazilian aircraft company Embraer displays a press release dated 20 August announcing the signing of a contract with the government of the Dominican Republic. The contract is for 10 Super Tucano aircraft to be used for pilot training, internal security and border patrol missions and to combat drug trafficking. See the press release at: http://www.embraer.com/english/ Hoy newspaper reports that an analyst of the Banco Santander Central Hispano says the airplanes cost US$2.5 million each.
