Brazilian Air Force

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Brazilian Air Force Força Aérea Brasileira
Active	1941 -
Country	Brazil
Branch	Air Force
Size	73,500 active personnel 768 aircraft
Part of	Ministry of Defence
Command Headquarters	Brasília/DF
Patron	Alberto Santos Dumont
Motto	Wings of a sovereign people
March	"Hino dos Aviadores"
Anniversaries	May 22 (anniversary) April 22 (fighter day)
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Commander	Lieutenant-Brigadier Juniti Saito
Insignia
Roundel
Insignia
Aircraft flown
Attack	AMX, Super Tucano
Bomber	A-1
Fighter	Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II
Interceptor	Dassault Mirage 2000
Patrol	Lockheed P-3 Orion
Reconnaissance	Embraer R-99
Trainer	Tucano
Transport	C-130, C-295, C-212, 707, UH-1H

The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese: Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces". Both air branches transferred their equipments, installations and personnel to the new armed force.

The FAB is the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service, and as of July 8, 2005, had 66,020 personnel on active duty. An additional 7,500 civilian personnel are employed by the Air Force ^[1].

Contents 1 History 1.1 Creation 1.2 FAB goes to war 1.3 Post World War II 1.4 Cold War 1.5 Present 2 Command Structure 3 Air Units Organization 4 Operations 5 SIVAM 6 Aircraft inventory 7 Notes 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Creation

The establishment of the Royal Air Force in 1918 and the creation of the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) and the French Air Force during the twenties drove the first thoughts to unite the Brazilian air power under the same organization. Together with these events the Brazilian strategists were also influenced by the theoretical fundaments of Giulio Douhet, Billy Mitchell and Hugh Montague Trenchard.

The first public manifest ^[2] to create an integrated military air service came up in 1928 when an army Major called Lysias Rodrigues wrote an article called “An urgent need: The Ministry of the Air” (“Uma premente necessidade: o Ministério do Ar”). Two years later the French Military Mission, working for the Brazilian Army, set the very first steps to organize a national air arm. The idea got more supporters when a group of Brazilian airmen came from Italy in 1934 and explained the advantages of having a military aviation unified. Also, the Spanish Revolution and the first movements of World War II at the end of the thirties showed the importance of Air power for military strategies.

One of the main supporters of the plan to create an independent air arm was the then-president Getúlio Vargas. He organized a study group early in 1940 and the whole structure of the Ministry of Aeronautics (Ministério da Aeronáutica) was established the end of that year. This new governmental agency was responsible for the all aspects of the civil and military aviation including infrastructure, regulation and organization.

Formally, the Ministry of Aeronautics was founded on January 20, 1941 and so it's military branch called "National Air Forces", changed to “Brazilian Air Force” (Força Aérea Brasileira - FAB) on May, 22. The Army (“Aviação Militar”) and Navy (“Aviação Naval”) air branches were extinguished and all personnel, aircraft, installations and other related equipments were transferred to FAB.

[edit] FAB goes to war

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. Their work was recognized by a Presidential Unit Citation issued on April 26th, 1986--one of only four non-US squadrons to receive such a citation.

[edit] Post World War II

After the war, the FAB began flying the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter. The jets were purchased from the British for 15,000 tons of crude cotton, as Brazil had no foreign currency reserves to spare. The jet was operated by the FAB until the 1970s, when it was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which were later replaced by the F-5 and Mirage III jets.

[edit] Cold War

During the Cold War, the Brazilian Republic was aligned with 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, also 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 the FAB. Working with Italian corporations, it developed the new AMX fighter which currently makes up the backbone of the FAB's attack force. The successful Tucano T-27 trainer and the new light attack aircraft "A-29," are also Embraer aircraft used extensively by the FAB.

[edit] Present

In the early 2000s, with renewed economic stability, the FAB underwent a slow, but extensive renewal of its inventory through several acquisition programs. The most ambitious of which was the acquisition of 12 to 14 new front-line interceptor aircraft to replace its aging Mirage III. Known as F-X Project the program was postponed once again in 2005 and the final decision now will be made around 2011. The former competitors were the General Dynamics F-16, the Dassault-Embraer Mirage 2000-BR, the SAAB-BAE Gripen, and the Sukhoi Su-35.

On July 15, 2005 one agreement was set with the French government for the transfer of twelve Dassault Mirage 2000s (ten "C" and two "B" versions) second-hand ex-Armée de L’Air. Known as F-2000s in Brazil, the first two aircraft arrived at Anápolis Air Base on September 4, 2006

Other programs, however, were successfully completed and included the following (as of May 2007):

• ALX (Light Attack Aircraft) Program - 99 Super Tucano aircraft. Currently being delivered.
• F-5BR Program - Upgrade of Northrop F-5 to F-5BR standard. Include new radar, avionics and weapons systems. Currently being delivered.
• CL-X (Medium Transport Aircraft) - Replacement of DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft. 12 CASA C-295 aircraft acquired. Currently being delivered.
• P-X (Maritime Patrol) Program- Replacement of EMB-111A aircraft for modernized P-3 airframes with EADS avionics. Currently being implemented.
• Interim Mirage 2000C purchase. Currently being delivered.
• Acquisition of presidential transport aircraft, known as FAB 001. An Airbus ACJ was bought and delivered in 2005.

Pending Programs:

• CT-X (Light Transport Aircraft) Program- To replace the C-95 Bandeirante. CASA C-212-400 Aviocar is the likely choice.

[edit] Command Structure

The Brazilian Air Force is the aerospace branch of the Brazilian armed forces and is managed by the "Aeronautics Comand" (Comando da Aeronáutica - COMAer). The COMAer was created in 1999 ^[3] and replaced the Ministry of Aeronautics. Now, the COMAer is one of the three armed forces currently assigned to the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa).

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

COMAer currently comprises six major components, four "General Commands" (Comandos-Gerais) and two "Departaments" (Departamentos). The "General Command of Air Operations" (Comando-Geral de Operações Aéreas - COMGAR), with headquarters in Brasilia, supervises most of the flying operations. As the main flying element, COMGAR administers several sub-formations in the form of four “Air Forces” (Forças Aéreas) and seven “Regional Air Commands” (Comandos Aéreos Regionais - COMAR). Besides COMGAR, other major parallel organizations, which also report directly to the COMAer, are the “General Command of Support” (Comando-Geral de Apoio - COMGAP), “General Commando of Personnel” (Comando-Geral de Pessoal - COMGEP), “General Command of Aerospatial Technology” (Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial - DEPED), “Aeronautics Departament of Teaching” (Departamento de Ensino da Aeronáutica - DEPENS), “Departament of Civil Aviation” (Departamento de Aviação Civil - DAC) and “Departament of Airspace Control” (Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo - DECEA).

[edit] Air Units Organization

At unit levels, "Groups" (Grupos) usually consist of one to sixteen consecutively-numbered "Squadrons" (Esquadrões), each with varying numbers of aircraft, usually from six to 12. Smaller formations are known as "flights" (Esquadrilhas). According to its tasks, a group has one of the following designations:

• Air Defense Group: Grupo de Defesa Aérea (GDA): Air defense fighters. (Fighter Jets)
• Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte (GT): Transport, Flight refueling
• Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação (GAv): Fighter, attack, reconnaissance, SAR, rotary wing
• Fighter Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação de Caça (GAvCa); Fighter, attack planes
• Troop Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte de Tropas (GTT): Transports, troop carrying, parachutist drop
• Special Flight Inspection Group: Grupo Especial de Inspeção em Vôo (GEIV): Calibration
• Special Test Flights Group: Grupo Especial de Ensaios de Vôo (GEEV): Test flights
• Special Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte Especial (GTE): VIP transport

Common used designations for squadrons are:

• Air Transport Squadron: Esquadrão de Transporte Aéreo (ETA)
• Air Training Squadron: Esquadrão de Instrução Aérea (EIA)
• Demonstration flying team: Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea (EDA) (also called "Esquadrilha da Fumaça")

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	Natal
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,F-5F,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,A-29A,A-29B	Campo Grande
	1º/4º GAv	AT-26,AT-26A	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,C-105	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-93A	Santos Dumont Airport
DEPED	GEEV	A-1,XU-93,T-27,CH-55	São José dos 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,VC-99C,VH-34,VH-55	Brasília
Reporting direct to Air Force cabinet	EDA	T-27	Pirassununga

[edit] Operations

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 the primary plane 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, Uruguayan ,Chilean and Argentine force) currently deployed there.

[edit] SIVAM

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

[edit] Aircraft inventory

The FAB operates a total of 729 aircraft, including 165 main combat aircraft and 91 helicopters. 479 of the force's aircraft, comprising nearly 66% of the total force, were manufactured or assembled in Brazil, including 107 combat aircraft (65%) and 35 helicopters (38%).

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions (local designations)	In service[4] [5]	Notes
Airbus A319	France  Germany  Spain	VIP Transport	VC-1A	1
AMX International AMX	Brazil /  Italy	attack/reconnaissance lead-in trainer	A-1A A-1B	42 11	Modernization to A1M standard started
Atlas Impala II MB326K	South Africa /  Italy	attack/trainer	AT-26A	11	Used SAAF airframes acquired in 2005
Beechcraft King Air 90	United States	staff transport	Beech 90	1
Bell UH-1 Iroquois	United States	utility helicopter	UH-1H	43
Bell 206 JetRanger	United States	utility helicopter	H-4B (206B)	3
Boeing KC-137 Stratoliner	United States	tanker/transport	KC-137 (707-320C)	4
Boeing 737	United States	VIP transport	VC-96 (737-200)	2
British Aerospace BAe 125-400	United Kingdom	Flight test	XU-93	1	The last VU-93 version was phased out in jan/2007. Only one (FAB 2123) still flying with GEEV
Cessna 208 Caravan	United States	utility	C-98 (208A) C-98B (208B)	8 10
Dassault Mirage 2000	France	interceptor lead-in trainer	F-2000C F-2000B	10 2
de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo	Canada	transport	C-115 (DHC-5A)	9	Being withdrawn.
EADS/CASA C-212 Aviocar	Spain	transport	?	Order for 20 placed
EADS/CASA C-295	Spain	transport	C-105A	8	12 to delivery
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante	Brazil	utility transport transport aerial survey maritime patrol	TOTAL C-95/P-95/R-95 C-95/A/B/EC-95/SC-95B C-95C (EMB 110P1K) RC-95 (EMB 110B) P-95A/B (EMB-111)	88 59 5 5 19	7º ETA retired C-95
Embraer EMB 120 Brasília	Brazil	transport VIP transport VIP transport	TOTAL C-97 C-97 (EMB 120) VC-97 (EMB 120ER) VC-97 (EMB 120RT)	17 9 3 5
Embraer EMB 121 Xingu	Brazil	VIP transport	VU-9	8
Embraer ERJ 135BJ Legacy	Brazil	VIP transport	VC-99C	4
Embraer ERJ 145 family	Brazil	transport/VIP transport airborne early warning remote sensing	C-99 (ERJ-145ER) R-99A R-99B	7 5 3
Embraer EMB 210R Ipanema	Brazil	utility	U-19	2
Embraer EMB 312 Tucano	Brazil	trainer/light attack	AT/T-27	109
Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano	Brazil	attack	A-29A/B	52	Total of 99 to be delivered
Embraer EMB 326GB Xavante	Brazil /  Italy	trainer/attack	AT-26/A	20	Being withdrawn
Embraer EMB 810 Seneca II/III	Brazil	utility	U-7/7A (EMB 810C)	9
Eurocopter AS-332 Cougar	France  Germany  Spain	transport helicopter VIP helicopter	CH-34 (AS-332M) VH-34	8 2
Learjet 35	United States	VIP transport special mission	VC-35 R-35A	9 3
Learjet 55	United States	VIP transport	VU-55C	1
Glasflügel H-201	Germany	Training glider	Z-15	1
Helibras HB-350B	Brazil /  France  Germany  Spain	utility helicopter	H-50	25
Helibras HB-355	Brazil/  France  Germany  Spain	utility helicopter	H-55	3
IPAE Quero-Quero	Brazil	Training glider	Z-16	6
LET Blaník L-13/L-23/L-33 Blaník/Super Blaník/Solo	Czechoslovakia	Training glider	TZ-13 (L-13) TZ-13 (L-23) TZ-13 (L-33)	3 4 2
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	tactical transport tanker	C-130E/H KC-130H	21 2	Some can be configured to KC standard
Lockheed P-3 Orion	United States	maritime patrol	P-3M/BR	?	8 on order
Neiva Regente	Brazil	liaison	U-42	21	Being withdrawn
Neiva T-25 Universal	Brazil	basic trainer	T-25A/B/C	68
Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II	United States	fighter lead in trainer	F-5E/F	51 6	Modernization to F-5M standard in progress
Piper PA-32 Cherokee	United States	utility		1
Raytheon Hawker 800XP	United Kingdom	calibration	EU-93A	4
Schleicher ASW 20	Germany	Training glider	Z-20	1
Sikorsky H-60L Black Hawk	United States	combat search and rescue	H-60L	4	Total of 6 to be delivered

The Brazilian Army also operates rotary-wing aircraft, while the Brazilian Navy operates both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Brazilian Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron - Esquadrilha da Fumaça
• Brazilian Navy
• Brazilian Army
• Military ranks of Brazil
• Military history of Brazil
• Brazil and weapons of mass destruction

[edit] External links

• Brazilian Air Force official Web site (Portuguese)
• Scramble.nl's Brazilian Air Force page
• History of Brazilian Air Force in World War II (Portuguese)
• History of the Brazilian Air Force
• Milavia - Brazilian Air Force
• Military Orders and Medals from Brazil (website in Portuguese)

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