Brazil’s Transport Aviation: the challenge of integrating a continent-sized country

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The delivery of the fifth KC-390 Millennium transport aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) marked the return to normalcy of the long and fruitful relationship between the FAB and Embraer Defense and Security, following the agreement that reduced the original order from 28 to 22 aircraft in early 2022.

At the same time, the announcement of the acquisition of two Airbus A-330s in the civil market, with plans to convert them to the Multi-Role Tank Transporter (MRTT) version soon, confirmed the continuity of the investment in transport aviation.

These A-330s, acquired from Azul Airlines, will be converted to the MRTT version at Airbus Defence & Space’s facilities in the Spanish city of Getafe and subsequently delivered to the 2nd/2nd WG, a unit that currently has no aircraft to operate.

BRIEF HISTORY

Created in 1941, during World War II, the Brazilian Air Force used two references to implement its Transport Aviation; firstly, the previous flying experience of the experienced pilots of the National Air Mail (CAN), who graduated from Army Aviation and Naval Aviation, and secondly, the massive introduction of American-made aircraft, especially the twin-engine C-47 Dakota/Douglas DC-3 transport.

In the post-war period, the large supply of these aircraft facilitated this initial phase, but the need for larger aircraft capable of supporting the development of the country and the Air Force itself led to the purchase of new models, most of them of American or European origin.

During the ’40s, ’50s, and until the mid-’60s, the FAB operated a heterogeneous transport fleet that included PBY-5 Catalina and Grumman Albatross amphibious seaplanes, C-82 freighters, C-119 Flying Boxcar, Avro C-91, Viscount VC-90, etc.

THE EMERGENCE OF EMBRAER AND THE ’70S, ’80S, and ’90S

In the late 1960s, a Transport Aviation modernization cycle brought into service the imported four-engine Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130, the twin-engine DHC C-115 Buffalo, and the light twin-engine Embraer C-95 Bandeirante, the most numerous transport aircraft in FAB history and the launching project of the Brazilian Aeronautical Company, Embraer.

As these aircraft aged over the following decades, the better-valued Hercules were modernized (and used aircraft were purchased to replace losses), the venerable C-115s were replaced by modern Airbus C-295s (C-105 Amazonas), and the newer C-95 Bandeirante (already joined by the C-98 Caravan and C-99 Brasilia) received new Brazilian-developed avionics, structural re-engining, and extended airframe life, and remained in service.

As Embraer’s options grew, the ERJ-145 and then the first-generation E-Jets were incorporated into personnel and authority transport missions, and the executive jets were used for liaison and transport missions.

Embraer thus assumed an increasingly important role in Air Force Transport Aviation until 2009 saw the official launch of the KC-390 program, which envisaged an advanced, high-tech, multi-role twin-engine cargo aircraft capable of fulfilling the FAB’s commitments to the Army, the Brazilian government, and its own missions, equipped with an in-flight refueling probe and the ability to refuel other aircraft, as well as sophisticated all-weather mission systems and a wide range of cargo management and launch technology, including paratroopers.

A long development phase, carried out at the Gavião Peixoto plant and at different locations around the world, qualified the KC-390 as a premium aircraft in its segment (up to 23 tons of cargo), and an order for 28 examples placed by the Brazilian Air Force paved the way for the start of the project’s industrialization and the first deliveries.

Following the receipt of five aircraft in Anápolis (Goiás state), Embraer Defense and Security and the Brazilian Air Force reached an understanding whereby it was agreed to reduce the number of orders to 22 units, thus slowing the pace of production while finalizing deliveries of the first KC-390s to Portugal and Hungary, both European customers who are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

TRANSPORT AVIATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Operationally, the Brazilian Air Force can operate both day and night, using night vision, transporting cargo, supplies, and troops at different ranges and capabilities.

Administrative/liaison/support work over short distances and improvised runways is performed by the C-98 Caravan, moving to the twin-engine C-95 Bandeirante/C-99 Brasilia, with greater cargo capacity on regional routes, and then to the larger and more capable Airbus Military C-105 Amazonas, whose fleet operates mainly in the Midwest and the Brazilian Amazon.

The Hercules C-130s (in the process of being replaced) are giving way to the more capable Embraer KC-390s. In-flight refueling missions, including those of the helicopters, are already being trained and successfully executed using the new aircraft.

The Embraer aircraft was put into service with the FAB in a Covid-19 pandemic fighting scenario and performed essential medicine, equipment, and supply transport missions with high availability and reliability from day one.

The KC-390 has participated in operational parachute drop missions at night, in dense and complex airspace full of aircraft and sensors, in the United States, and both aircraft and troops (Parachute Infantry Brigade) have performed very well during all international exercises.

Humanitarian missions with long flights over the sea, loaded with supplies, were carried out without major difficulties, with the aircraft reaching the “textbook” performance marks and even surpassing some of them.

In the transport of liquid oxygen, the aircraft stood out for its airframe prepared with valves and connections suitable for long flights in safety, departing from southeastern Brazil and landing in Manaus and other Amazonian cities.

In the special border platoons in the Amazon region, the KC-390 has accelerated the completion and delivery of airstrips built by the Air Force, as well as the transport of specialized heavy and bulky machinery in the jungle.

The strategic role of the KC-390 is to provide mobility to the Brazilian Army’s operational troops for immediate use, transporting necessary military assets anywhere in the national territory (or abroad) with speed, efficiency, and safety.

It includes dropping paratroopers, special forces, supplies, and equipment and delivering special cargo on different types of runways, semi-prepared and even improvised.

The KC-390’s hold is approved to carry the standard vehicles of an Astros 2020 battery (and its AV-MTC 300 cruise missiles), BlackHawk semi-mounted helicopters, LMV/Lince and Iveco Guarani 6×6 4×4 armored vehicles, among other military systems such as artillery pieces, ammunition, portable radars, surface-to-air missile systems, etc.

TRANSPORT AVIATION MISSIONS

Thirteen Air Units form the Transport Aviation of the Brazilian Air Force. This aviation is currently equipped with the KC-390 Millennium aircraft, the C-130 Hercules, the C-105 Amazonas, the C-99 (ERJ-145), the C-97 Brasilia, the C-98 Caravan, the C-95 Bandeirante, the U-55 Learjet, and the U-100 Phenom.

The Transport Units are based in Manaus (Amazonas), Belém (Pará), Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro), Canoas (Rio de Janeiro), Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul), Anápolis (Goiás) and Brasília (Federal District).

The Squadrons can perform Air and Complementary Actions, generally related to the Combat Sustainment Task, such as Air Assault, Search and Rescue, Aeromedical Evacuation, Air Exfiltration, Air Infiltration, In-Flight Refueling, Logistic Air Transport, and In-Flight Fire Fighting.

With information from InfoDefensa