Smoke relay and submarine Riachuelo, protagonists of the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence

The demonstrations of the Smoke Squadron and the public presentation of the submarine Riachuelo were of particular importance for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence, which included several naval parades (mainly in Salvador, Natal, Belem, Santos, and Rio de Janeiro) and took place in one way or another in practically all Brazilian cities.

Parades and fleet parades took place in many cities and at least 25 Brazilian capitals.

In Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, the Super Tucanos of the Brazilian Air Force’s smoke squadron were presented, designed for the first time in smoke with the colors of the Brazilian flag, a device only used during significant celebrations.

In the naval field, the parade took place in Rio de Janeiro, with ships from 20 navies, including African (two ships from Cameroon) and American, as well as the Portuguese training ship NRP Sagres III, which sailed between the southwest coast of Recreio dos Bandeirantes, to the beaches of Flamengo and Gloria.

The most important novelty was the public presentation of the first Riachuelo-class submarine, the S-40, officially launched on 1.

It officially entered service on 1 September, launching a series of four conventional submarines and one nuclear-powered torpedo (Álvaro Alberto).

NAVAL FORCES FROM 20 COUNTRIES

In total, the following foreign vessels were present:

• USS “Mesa Verde” LPD-19 (San Antonio class) amphibious transport ship and
• USS “Lassen” destroyer of the U.S. Navy;
• Mexican multi-purpose ship ARM “Libertador”;
• Argentine multi-purpose ocean patrol ships ARA “Piedrabuena” and ARA “Libertad”;
• Cameroonian patrol ships (CNS) “Le Ntem” and “Lasanaga”;
• Portuguese Navy training ship N. R.P. “Sagres”,
• the British Royal Navy frigate HMS “Forth”,
• the multi-purpose ship “Elephant” from Namibia,
• the ROU salvage and research vessel “Vanguardia” from Uruguay and
• the frigate “Almirante Williams” FF-19 from Chile.
• Airbus H-225M naval helicopters were also demonstrated.

In Brasilia, the military and police parade on the esplanade of the ministries was attended by the Presidents of Portugal, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau, who accompanied President Jair Bolsonaro (who was also present at the Rio events).

A Group of veterans, almost centenarians, former members of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force stationed in Europe during the Second World War, and former members of the last operational peacekeeping missions were also present.

The following aircraft took part in the air parade in Brasilia:

• 6 F-5M fighter aircraft;
• 01 KC-390 Millennium and 02 F-5M fighter aircraft;
• 1 KC-130 Hercules and 02 A-1M fighters;
• 2 Embraer R-99s and 01 C-99s;
• 1 C-130 Hercules, 01 SC-105 and 01 C-105 Amazon;
• Eight recently upgraded T-27M Tucanos
• 01 Airbus KC-30, the latest transport vector acquired this year.

In the south of Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the Parada above Naval, the renowned private aerobatic team “CEU”, made up of ex-military pilots and equipped with Van RV7 aircraft, opened the show.

Before the parachuting demonstration by special teams of the Army and the Air Force, followed by the Smoke Squadron and the artillery salute in honor of Brazil’s 200th anniversary, carried out from the ships of the Brazilian fleet and Copacabana Fort. (Javier Bonilla)