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Brazilian Air Force

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The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese: Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) is the air force branch of the Brazilian armed forces.

History

Formation

File:Sup r3 c1.jpg
Brazilian Air Force Seal

FAB was founded on January 20, 1941 in response to a growing number of German submarines on the Brazilian coast in the beginning of World War II.

Equipped with American airplanes, mainly the P-47 Thunderbolt, the FAB saw action on the Italian front, earning respect for its high number of sorties flown and the hard work of both pilots and support personnel.

Post World War II

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World War II 1st group symbol

After the war, the FAB begin operating the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter. The jet was bought from the British with 15,000 tons of crude cotton, as the Brazilian Republic had no foreign currency reserves to spare. The jet was operated by the FAB until the 1970s, when it was replaced by the Northrop F-5 Tiger. The FAB also had in its squads the F-80C and TF-33A, which was replaced by the F-5 and Mirage III jets.

Cold War

During the Cold War, The Brazilian Republic was an ally of the United States and NATO. This meant that the F-5 could be bought cheaply from the United States, who practically sponsored this jet as the Freedom Fighter. Many other countries, such as Mexico, benefited from this policy.

The now successful Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica, Brazilian Aeronautic Co.) has its origins as an enterprise directly managed and sponsored by FAB. Working with Italian corporations, it developed the new AMX fighter which makes up the backbone of the FAB's attack force. The successful Tucano T-27 trainer and the new light attack aircraft "A-29" (mainly based on the T-27 turboprop, but with a more powerful engine and fourth generation avionics and precision weaponry) are also developments from Embraer.

Present

Roundel or logo

The FAB was looking for a new jet fighter to replace its aging Mirage III. The former competitors were the General Dynamics F-16, the Dassault-Embraer Mirage 2000-BR, the SAAB-BAE Gripen, and the Sukhoi Su-35. The project, called F-X project, was cancelled; the FAB high command alleges that most competitors will soon become obsolete. Some specialists say the Gripen fighter does not have enough operational range for the FAB's purposes. The government stated that the money is needed for fighting poverty.

Some rumors circulated about the FAB and Embraer joining the French fighter programme Dassault Rafale. Other rumors stated the FAB made a deal with Sukhoi and Avibras in order to obtain Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and its technology as soon as they start being manufactured in large scale. However, until these rumors can be confirmed, or another program initiated, the Brazilian Air Force will need a step fighter, for the Mirage III has retired in 2005. The F-5 (currently being upgraded by Embraer) is an option, since many F-5s in good condition are spoiling in the inventory of other nations, available for low prices. However, the Brazilian government recently bought one squadron (12 units) of used Mirage 2000s from the French. FAB still has in mind the purchase of new aircraft until 2011. Rafale, EF-2000 and SU-35 are the preferred aircraft of Brazilian pilots, but Brazilian Air Force's lack of funds may change the result.

Command Structure

The Brazilian Air Force is the aerospace branch of the Brazilian armed forces and it is managed by the "Comando da Aeronáutica” (COMAer). The COMAer was created in 1999 [1] and replaced the “Ministério da Aeronáutica”. Now the COMAer is one of the three armed forces currently assigned to the “Ministério da Defesa” (like the US Department of Defense).

The COMAer is lead by the "Comandante da Aeronáutica" (the same as Secretary of the Air Force). Unlike USAF, the "Comandante da Aeronáutica" is a “Major-Brigadeiro-do-Ar” (the most senior rank currently used in the Air Force, witch is the same as USAF four-star general). He is nominated by the President and reports directly to the "Ministro da Defesa" (same as Secretary of Defense).

It currently comprises six major components or organizations (four "Comandos-Gerais" and two "Departamentos"). The “Comando-Geral de Operações Aéreas” (COMGAR or General Air Command), with head quarter in Brasília, supervises most of the flying operations. As the main flying element, COMGAR administers several sub-formations in the form of four “Forças Aéreas” (FAe or Air Forces) and seven “Comandos Aéreos Regionais” (COMAR or Regional Air Commands).

Besides COMGAR, other major parallel organizations, which also report directly to the COMAer, are the “Comando-Geral de Apoio” (COMGAP or Support Command), “Comando-Geral do Pessoal” (COMGEP or Personel Command), “Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial” (DEPED or R&D Department), “Departamento de Ensino da Aeronáutica” (DEPENS or Training Department), “Departamento de Aviação Civil” (DAC or Civil Aviation Departament) and “Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo” (DECEA or Airspace and Traffic Control Departament).

Air Units Organization

At unit levels, "Grupo" (wings) usually comprise anything from one to sixteen consecutively-numbered "Esquadrões" (squadrons), each with varying numbers of aircraft from half dozen to 12 or more. Smaller formations are known as "Esquadrilhas" (flights). According to its tasks, a "Grupo" has the following designations:

  • Grupo de Defesa Aérea (GDA): air defense fighter
  • Grupo de Transporte (GT): transport, flight refuelling
  • Grupo de Aviação (GAv): fighter, attack, reconnaissance, SAR, rotary wing
  • Grupo de Aviação de Caça (GAvCa); fighter, attack
  • Grupo de Transporte de Tropas (GTT): transport, troop carrying, parachutist drop
  • Grupo Especial de Inspeção em Vôo (GEIV): calibration
  • Grupo Especial de Ensaios de Vôo (GEEV): flight test
  • Grupo de Transporte Especial (GTE): VIP transport

Commom used designations for squadrons are:

  • ETA - Esquadrão de Transporte Aéreo: general transport
  • EIA - Esquadrão de Instrução Aérea: basic and advanced training
  • EDA - Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea (also called "Esquadrilha da Fumaça"): demonstration flying team


The air units are organized as follows:

COMGAR sub-formation Air unit Aircraft type Air base
I FAe 1º/5º GAv C-95 Fortaleza
2º/5º GAv A-29A,A-29B Natal
1º/11º GAv UH-50 Santos
II FAe 1º/7º GAv P-95B Salvador
2º/7º GAv P-95B Florianópolis
3º/7º GAv P-95A Belém
4º/7º GAv P-95A Santa Cruz
1º/8º GAv UH-1H Belém
2º/8º GAv UH-50 Recife
3º/8º GAv CH-34 Campo dos Afonsos
5º/8º GAv UH-1H Santa Maria
7º/8º GAv UH-1H,H-60L Manaus
2º/10º GAv UH-1H,SC-95B Campo Grande
III FAe 1º GAvCa F-5E,AT-27 Santa Cruz
1º GDA F-2000,AT-26,AT-27 Anápolis
1º/3º GAv AT-27 Boa Vista
2º/3º GAv AT-27,A-29A Porto Velho
3º/3º GAv AT-27 Campo Grande
1º/4º GAv AT-26 Natal
1º/6º GAv R-35A,R-95 Recife
2º/6º GAv R-99A/B,C-98 Anápolis
1º/10º GAv A-1,A-1B Santa Maria
3º/10º GAv RA-1,RA-1B Santa Maria
1º/14º GAv F-5EM,F-5FM,AT-27 Canoas
1º/16º GAv A-1,A-1B Santa Cruz
V FAe 1º GTT C-130E/H Campo dos Afonsos
1º/1º GT C-130H/KC-130H Galeão
1º/2º GAv C-99 Galeão
2º/2º GAv KC-137 Galeão
1º/9º GAv C-115 Manaus
1º/15º GAv C-95B Campo Grande
I COMAR 1º ETA C-95B,C-98 Belém
II COMAR 2º ETA C-95 Recife
III COMAR 3º ETA C-95B,C-97 Galeão
IV COMAR 4º ETA C-95A São Paulo
V COMAR 5º ETA C-95A Canoas
VI COMAR 6º ETA C-95c, VU-9,VC-97 Brasília
VII COMAR 7º ETA C-95B,C-97,C-98 Manaus

Other air units are:

major component Air unit Aircraft type Air base
DECEA GEIV EC-95B/C,EU-93/A Santos Dumont
DEPED GEEV A-1,XU-93,T-27,CH-55 São José deos Campos
DEPENS 1º EIA T-27 Pirassununga
DEPENS 2º EIA T-25A/C Pirassununga
DEPENS Clube de Vôo a Vela U-19,Z-15,Z-16,TZ-13 Pirassununga
DEPENS Suport C-95A, UH-50,U-7 Pirassununga
Reporting direct to Air Force cabinet GTE VC-1A,VC-96,VU-93,VH-34,VH-55 Brasília
Reporting direct to Air Force cabinet EDA T-27 Pirassununga

Operations

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FAB R-99 / Embraer ERJ 145

One of the most recent operations of the FAB was the bombing of illegal landing sites in the Amazon Forest, used by drug dealers to transport drugs into and out of Brazil (see SIVAM). The operation also had support from the Brazilian Army and Brazilian Federal Police with many drug dealers being arrested as a result. The AMX Bomber/Fighter was used in this operation.

The FAB is currently working on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) supporting the United Nations force (a joint Brazilian, Uruguaian and Argentinian force) currently deployed there.

SIVAM

FAB is responsible for the aerospace vigilance and defence on program Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia (Amazon Surveillance System).

Aircraft

Aircraft FAB Designation Role Number
Airbus A319 VC-1A VIP Transport 1
AMX International AMX A-1A/B Attack/Recon 53
Bell 205 UH-1H Attack/SAR/Utility 42
Bell 206B Jet Ranger H-4B Utility 2
Boeing 707-320C KC-137 Aerial refueling/VIP/Transport 4
Boeing 737-200 VC-96 VIP Transport 2
British Aerospace BAe 125-400 EU-93/VU-93/XU-93 Calibration/VIP Transport/Flight test 10
Cessna 208 Caravan/208B Gran Caravan C-98/B Transport/Utility 7/10
Dassault Mirage 2000B/C** F-2000B/C Interception/Training 10/2
De Havilland Canada DHC-5A Buffalo C-115 Transport 10
EADS/CASA C-212 Aviocar** Transport 50
EADS/CASA C-295** C-105A Transport 12
Embraer EMB 145SA/RS R-99A/B AEW/SR 5/3
Embraer EMB 110/K1/P1K/P1A/A Bandeirante C-95/A/B/C/EC-95/SC-95B Transport/Calibration/SAR 90
Embraer EMB 111A/B Bandeirulha P-95A/B MPA 19
Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília C/VC-97 Transport/VIP Transport 23
Embraer EMB 121 Xingu VU-9 VIP/Transport 6
Embraer ERJ 145 C-99 Transport/VIP Transport 10
Embraer EMB 210R Ipanema U-19 REB 2
Embraer EMB 312 Tucano AT/T-27 Attack/Liaison/Training/Demonstration 107
Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano** A-29A/B Attack/Training 99
Embraer EMB 326GB Xavante/Atlas Impala Mk I/II AT-26/A Attack/Training 30/12
Embraer EMB 810 Seneca II/III U-7/7A Liaison/Utility 9
Eurocopter AS 332M Cougar CH-34/VH-34 Transport/VIP Transport 10/1
Lear Jet VC/R-35A VC/R-35A VIP Transport 9/3
Lear Jet VC-55 VU-55C VIP Transport 1
Glasflügel H-201B Z-15 PLA 1
Helibras HB 350B H-50 Liaison/SAR/Transport 25
Helibras HB-355 H-55 Utility/VIP Transport 3
IPAE Quero-quero Z-16 PLA/Trainer 6
LET Blanick L-13/L-23/L-33 Solo TZ-13 PLA/Trainer 3/4/2
Lockheed KC/C-130E/H Hercules C-130 Transport 23
Lockheed P-3BR Orion* P-3M MPA/ASW 8
Neiva Regente U-42 Liaison/Utility 21
Neiva T-25 Universal T-25A/B/C Basic Trainer 96
Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II*** F-5E/F Interception/Fighter/Attack/Trainer 49/6
Raytheon BAe Hawker 800XP EU-93A Calibration 4
Schleicher ASW 20 Z-20 PLA 1
Sikorsky S-70** H-60L C-SAR 6

*Order placed

**Order placed (delivery underway) / One Mirage 2000C and one B delivered on September 2006, the others should be delivered up to 2008

***Undergoing modernization to reach M standard

Notes

See also