Yeah exactly, they used to have aircraft with more payload endurance and survivability than a tucano, then got rid of them - the A-1!
This isn't the first time they'd re-introduce vietnam era weapons, in (albeit smaller) form they've reintroduced the M79 'blooper' 40mm grenade launcher, the Willy Jeep, the Colt .45 allsorts at Platoon level, so why not do this as well?