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Further Reading

Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) Brazilian Air Force

Established in 1941, the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) is the newest of the services and gradually has gained a larger share of the budget. The strength of the FAB--50,000 members in 1997 (including 5,000 conscripts), 272 combat aircraft, and forty-five armed helicopters--makes it the largest air force in Latin America. The FAB's budget is relatively large because of its civil air budget.

The minister of aeronautics, in addition to commanding the air force, controls all civil air activities: the construction and operation of airports through the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Firm (Empresa Brasileira de Infraestructura Aeroportuária--Infraero), and air traffic control through the Civil Aviation Department (Departamento de Aviação Civil--DAC). The line of military command extends from the minister through his chief of staff, who heads the Air Force General Staff (Estado-Maior da Aeronáutica--EMAer), down to the commanders of the three general commands: General Air Command (Comando Geral do Ar), General Support Command (Comando Geral de Apoio), and General Personnel Command (Comando Geral do Pessoal) and three departments: Research and Development, Civil Aviation, and Training. There are also seven regional air commands under the General Air Command that cover the entire country. Numbered from one to seven, the headquarters of the regional air commands include Belém, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Brasília, and Manaus.

Under the control of the regional air commands are more than 800 aircraft of different types (fighter, attack, patrol, SAR, transport, helicopters and reconnaissance). These are grouped into Esquadrões (squadrons) which form Grupos (groups). According to its tasks, the different Grupos are: Grupo de Aviação (GAV: fighter, attack, SAR, helicopter), Grupo de Defesa Aérea(GDA: interception), Grupo de Transporte(GT: transport, flight refuelling), Grupo de Transporte de Tropa (GTT: transport, troop carrying and parachutist drop). Other smaller units are the Esquadrões de Instrução Aérea - EIA (flight instruction squadrons) and the FAB aerobatics squadron, or Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea.

The air force desperately wants to replace its aging Mirages. Upon taking office in January 2003, President Lula postponed a decision on a new generation fighter (F-X), an understandable decision given the cost involved, approximately $700 million. New Lockheed F-16 Block 50 aircraft were previously offered in the competition. However, recognizing that other competitors might be preferred by FAB, Lockheed-Martin also decided to offer used F-16s in a deal that would provide the air force with capable aircraft at a fraction of the cost of new planes. Recent soundings from the GOB suggest that in order to avoid the significant budgetary outlay, consideration is also being given to upgrade of the current Mirage fleet. However, FAB continues to focus on the procurement of new, not used, aircraft. Regardless of the decision, GOB funding of the F-X will be difficult. FAB is also looking to replace its aging UH-1 helicopter fleet. In February 2004, the FAB sent a delegation to Alabama to discuss possible modifications needed on the 6-10 Black Hawks they are interested in purchasing.

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 and the final decision now will be made around 2011. The former competitors were the General Dynamics F-16, the Dassault Rafale, 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.

On November 4, 2007 the F-X Project was revived. Now known as Project FX-2 and with a bigger budget, the competitors for acquisition are now 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).

Another recent attempt by Brazil to modernize their air force is their recent acquisition and upgrade of their P-3 Orion aircraft. The P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, upgraded at Airbus Military's facilities in Getafe (Madrid), Spain were flown on April 29th, 2009. This maiden sortie was a further milestone in the programme to modernise nine P-3 aircraft for the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB), and marked the culmination of the equipment development and installation phase, and the start of flight tests to certify the mission and avionics systems.

The refurbished P-3 aircraft is fitted with the FITS (Fully Integrated Tactical System) mission system developed by Airbus Military in Spain, which is at the heart of a sophisticated arms system which ranges from maritime patrol to the most comprehensive anti-submarine warfare configuration. The FITS system, designed as a flexible and modular system, can be fitted in any kind of platform, including Airbus made platforms such as the C-212, CN-235 and C-295, as well as more complex platforms such as the P-3 Orion and Airbus A319. The nine P-3AM aircraft will be used primarily in marine patrol missions including control of the Brazilian EEZ (exclusive economic zone), border protection, drug law enforcement in the Amazon region and search and rescue missions along an area stretching over 6 million square kilometres entrusted by the OACI to the Brazilian government (virtually the entire South Atlantic).

EADS-CASA of Spain was awarded a contract in November 2002 to upgrade nine P-3 Orions to P-3AM (modernised) standard (also known as P-3BR) for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) out of a fleet of twelve ex-US Navy Lockheed Martin P-3A Orions under a USD423 million programme. The P-3s were originally scheduled to be delivered straight to Spain for the upgrade from 2003, with the three remaining examples being delivered to Brazil for spares use. However, final contract negotiations were only completed in early 2004 over final specifications for the upgrade. Final contract signature occured on 29 April 2005 after protracted negotiations. The first P-3A (serial FAB 7200, ex-US Navy BuNo 152180) flew on 20 December 2005 from the AMARC storage facility at Davis-Monthan, Arizona, departing for EADS-CASA's Getafe facility in Spain on 10 January 2006 for upgrade. The second example (BuNo 152174/FAB7201) followed on 22 May 2006. The first P-3AM was delivered to Brazil on 24 March 2008 to join 1/7° GAv at Salvador Air Base (BASB) and start replacing the unit's vintage P-95B Bandeirulhas.