Brazilian Air Force

The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese: Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) is the air 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 equipment, installations and personnel to the new force.

History

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 1920s drove the idea of uniting Brazilian air power under the same organization. Together with these events the Brazilian strategists were also influenced by the theories of Giulio Douhet, Billy Mitchell and Hugh Montague Trenchard.

The first public manifest^[3] 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, made the first steps to organize a national air arm. The idea got more support 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.^[4]

Formally, the Ministry of Aeronautics was founded on January 20, 1941 and so its 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 equipment were transferred to FAB.^[4]

World War II

The Brazilian Air force made modest contributions to the allied war effort in WW2, especially on the Italian front.^[5][5][6][7] It was mainly equipped with American aircraft (that were deemed less necessary by the USAF) such as the P-47 Thunderbolt. Brazilian Air Force also acted in the Atlantic Ocean from mid 1942 until the end of the war.

• German submarine U-199 Sunk 31 July, 1943 in the South Atlantic east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by depth charges from one American Mariner aircraft (VP-74) and two Brazilian aircraft (Catalina and Hudson) Brazilian Air Force. 49 dead and 12 survivors.

Brazilian Air Force aircraft from 1941-1945: Boeing Stearman, Beechcraft Staggerwing, Beechcraft Model 18, Curtiss Falcon, Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Consolidated PBY Catalina, Douglas B-18 Bolo, Douglas A-20 Havoc, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Focke-Wulf Fw 58, Fairchild PT-19, Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, Lockheed Hudson, Lockheed Ventura, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American T-6 Texan, Vought O2U Corsair, Vultee BT-13 Valiant, Vultee A-19(V-11), P-47 Thunderbolt

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 mid-1960s, when it was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which were later replaced by the MB-326, Mirage III and F-5 jets.

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 called this jet the "Freedom Fighter". Many other countries, such as Mexico, also benefited from this policy.

The 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 attack aircraft (known locally as A-1) 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," are also Embraer aircraft used extensively by the FAB.

Today

Strength

As of 2010, the FAB had a strength of 70,710 active personnel and 652 aircraft in service. Making it by far the largest air force in Latin America. Figures are taken from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.^[8]

Developments

In the early 2000s, with renewed economic stability, the FAB underwent an extensive renewal of its inventory through several acquisition programs, the most ambitious of which was the acquisition of 36 new front-line interceptor aircraft to replace its aging Mirage III. Known as F-X Project the program was postponed once again in 2005. The competitors were the French Dassault Rafale, the Swedish SAAB-BAE Gripen, and the American F/A-18 Super Hornet.

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.

On November 4, 2007 the F-X Project underwent a small change. Now known as Project F-X2 and with a bigger budget, the competitors for acquisition were the Eurofighter Typhoon, Sukhoi Su-35, Saab Gripen, Dassault Rafale, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and, although information on Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II was requested, Lockheed Martin presented an F-16 Fighting Falcon variant (designated F-16BR).^[9] In October 2008, FAB released a shortlist of 3 aircraft: SAAB Gripen NG, Dassault Rafale and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. In February 2009, the three companies provided their final bids.^[10] In September 2009, following a surprise French visit to Brazil, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, from France, made a new military cooperation agreement. Lula, on an interview at TV5 Monde, said French Rafale is a step forward, since technology transfer would be effective.^[11]

On September 7, 2009, Brazilian Independence Day, it was announced Brazil would negotiate 36 Dassault Rafale.^[12] But the Defence Minister did not confirm if it is the final decision.

On January 5, 2010, after extreme lobbying by Air Force Officers and Commanders, it was reported in the media that the final evaluation report by the Brazilian Air Force placed the SAAB Gripen NG ahead of the other contenders. The decisive factor was apparently the overall cost of the new fighters, both in terms of unit cost, and operating and maintenance costs, and the personal preference of the test pilots. Rafale was reported to not even be the second choice.^[13] It was announced in February 2011 that the decision would be further delayed due to budget cuts.^[14]

Command structure

The Brazilian Air Force is the aerospace branch of the Brazilian armed forces and is managed by the "Aeronautics Command" (Comando da Aeronáutica - COMAer). The COMAer was created in 1999^[15] and replaced the Ministry of Aeronautics. Now, the COMAer is one of the three armed forces assigned to the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa).

The COMAer is led by the "Aeronautics Commander" (Comandante da Aeronáutica). Unlike USAF, the Commander is a "Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar" (the most senior rank 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 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 Command of Personnel" (Comando-Geral de Pessoal - COMGEP), "General Command of Aerospatial Technology" (Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial - CTA), "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).

Operations

A recent operation 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.

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) deployed there.

In 2010, the FAB worked on the Search & Rescue mission of Air France flight AF447. The Brazilian Air Force has started a search and rescue from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, highlighting eight planes to search a stretch bounded by the coastal cities of Recife, Natal and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.

Exercises

The Cruzex air force exercises are the most important of its type in South America. They are hosted every 2 years by the Brazilian Air Force. Issues and participants:

• Cruzex I 2002,,,
• Cruzex II 2004,,,
• Cruzex III 2006,,,,,
• Cruzex IV 2008,,,,
• Cruzex V 2010,,,,

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:

Other air units are:

The Air Force Bases of the Brazilian Air Force are:

Weapon systems

Missiles, bombs and rockets

Machine guns and automatic cannon

Pistols and rifles

Radar

Air Defence Systems

See also

• Academia da Força Aérea
• Aerial Demonstration Squadron
• Brazilian Naval Aviation
• Brazilian Navy
• Military ranks of Brazil
• Military history of Brazil
• Brazil and weapons of mass destruction
• Alberto Torres

References

Bibliography

• International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (2010-02-03). The Military Balance 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 1857435575. 

External links

• Brazilian Air Force website (Portuguese)
• Brazilian Air Force page at Scramble
• 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 (Portuguese)

Air Force · 
Army · 
Navy
Military Polices
Military Firefighters Corps