On a calm sunny morning, the silence at the Canoas Air Base (BACO), in Rio Grande do Sul, is interrupted by the roar of an engine, followed by the shrill sound of a jet starting up. The cycle repeats four more times, while the company's F-5 Tiger II fighters Air Force Brasileira (FAB) are activated for another combat mission in RS.
One by one, the planes move across the concrete to the side of the runway, where essential components are inspected by mechanics one last time before takeoff. The planes then head to the Caçapava do Sul region, where they will represent the enemy for eight other F-5s that would take off from BACO later.
In the so-called Campaign Area, supersonic jets face each other to gain superiority in Rio Grande do Sul's airspace. About an hour later, the fight was over. The 12 fighters, friends and enemies, begin to return to Canoas, in squadrons of four aircraft, landing one by one on the runway at the air base in Rio Grande do Sul. Another mission is completed in the t Exercise (EXCON) Tínia Shield, which runs until 17/11 in RS.
Simulated warfare
In this war in the Pampas, there are no missiles tearing up the skies, bombs creating craters or any use of live ammunition. The jets take off with training missiles, instruments sufficient to emulate the firing of the real device and provide data to know who shot down what, and in what way.
A simulation, very important for the military to be ready for a real conflict.
In Etruscan mythology, Tinia is considered a God of the air and that is why he was chosen to name the Regular War Exercise for the Aerial Arena. For six years, a strong contingent of Air Force personnel has been sent to RS where the exercise takes place once a year.
Since 2022, the operation has been called Escudo-Tínia, a way of “formalizing” the presence of anti-aircraft units from the Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy and the FAB itself. Arranged on the ground with portable short-range missiles, called MANPADS, they try to prevent air force actions in the exercise zone.
In this year's edition, there are 33 aircraft and more than 1200 military personnel working from BACO and the Santa Maria Air Base (BASM).
Participating aircraft
During EXCON Tinia, BASM and BACO welcome military personnel and air units from across the country, in addition to their own squadrons.
The Canoas base receives the following aircraft:
- F-5EM/FM Tiger II fighters, from the Pampa, Jambock and Pif-Paf squadrons;
- Guardian squadron E-99M early warning aircraft;
- H-36 Caracal helicopters from the Puma and Falcão squadrons;
- Transport aircraft C-95 Bandeirante, C-97 Brasília, C-98 Caravan from different squadrons.
From BASM, they operate:
- AMX A-1AM/BM fighter-bombers from the Poker and Centauro squadrons;
- AF-1B/C Skyhawk (A-4) fighter-bombers from the VF-1 Falcão squadron of the Brazilian Navy;
- C-105 Amazonas transport turboprops from the Arara and Onça squadrons;
- KC-390 Millennium cargo and in-flight refueling jets from the Zeus and Gordo squadrons;
- Panther squadron H-60L Black Hawk helicopters;
- RQ-900 Hermes drones from the Horus squadron.
COMAO
Throughout the year the Air Force carries out a series of exercises, but three stand out due to the number of resources involved. In Campo Grande, the FAB trains irregular warfare in Exercise Tapio; in Carranca, in Santa Catarina, the military exercises search and rescue; and in Tinia, regular warfare is trained.
As explained by Colonel Aviador Marcelo Zampier Bussmann, commander of BACO and director of the exercise, air defense aircraft (F-5) must maintain air superiority for a certain period so that other aircraft can carry out their missions without interference from the enemy.
“During the course of this mission in which air superiority is assured in the territory, we have several other missions and air force actions during this period”, explains the officer.
In aerial surveillance are the E-99, radar planes that can track targets at more than 700 km, characterized by the radar mounted on the back. The giant KC-390 provides the fuel to prolong the fighters' flight.
The C-105 infiltrates Army paratroopers, while the A-1 and A-4 from the FAB and MB simulate attacks on the ground, which are later inspected by the RQ-900 drone, also responsible for finding enemy positions.
Helicopters also simulate combat search and rescue (CSAR). As the BASM commander, Colonel Luciano Antonio Marchiorato, explains, the Black Hawks use the NOE (Nap-Of-the-Earth) tactic so as not to be such easy targets for missiles.
“It’s an extreme low altitude flight, we fly at 30, 50 feet from the ground [between 9 and 15 meters]. It’s a very interesting flight and a challenge for anti-aircraft.”, explains the officer who also flew helicopters in his FAB career.
Although there are troops on the ground, Bussmann highlights that at EXCON Tínia there is no conquest of land. The missions take place in the south of the state, in an area measuring 200 km by 80 km between Santana da Boa Vista, Caçapava do Sul and the border with Uruguay.
The planes operate in packages, and the greatest difficulty lies precisely in the communication and coordination between all these packages (made up of multiple aircraft), flying at the same time in a limited combat zone, with enemy fighters and anti-aircraft artillery.
CRUZEX
Held annually, 2024 will not see the gathering of military resources in Rio Grande do Sul. This is because Exercise Cruzeiro do Sul is planned to be held in Rio Grande do Norte. Better known as CRUZEX, the activity is the largest war training coordinated by Brazil and involves the participation of air forces from other countries. The last edition was in 2018.
“Next year there will be no Tinia, there will be another much more specific exercise and just for this issue of aerial combat because CRUZEX will cover all of this here”, says the BASM commander. For the Colonel, Tinia is a kind of “mini CRUZEX”, but with a little more freedom, since, according to him, “Within CRUZEX things are a little more tied up.”
Challenges and consolidation
Tínia is the last major exercise carried out by the FAB this year and brings together, in a single event, everything that the military applied during the period. “We have all the capabilities gathered here. The squadrons carried out aerial and ground fire, carried out rescue work, and the anti-aircraft personnel carried out their isolated training. So they come here to the Santa Maria and Canoas Air Base and everyone gets together”, says Marchiorato.
He also highlights that the biggest challenge of training is communication between all participants. “Communication between everyone, including the Army and Navy, is what makes the difference in combat success.”
Over the years the exercise has evolved, with increasingly complete and complex scenarios. Although air defense is a focus, the idea is to have more means to reinforce the COMAO concept and make simulated warfare even more real.
