The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) used one of its H-36 Caracal helicopters to actions to combat illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land (TIY) in Roraima. The action saw the transport of a new remotely piloted aircraft (ARP), the NAURU 500C, to monitor the region.
To increase the effectiveness of actions to combat mining in TIY, an H-36 helicopter from the Falcão Squadron (1st/8th GAv) transported the NAURU drone and its team of four operators from the Amazon Protection System Management and Operational Center (CENSIPAM ).
Classified as a Remotely Piloted Aerial System (SARP), NAURU is being used in repressive actions against illegal mining, cross-border illicit activities and environmental crimes in the TIY, working to map the areas of operations under the responsibility of the military and agencies that make up the Government House in Roraima.
“As CENSIPAM has the mission of working on the Amazon Protection System, we several civil bodies, in addition to the military, such as ICMBio, IBAMA, Federal Police and the Armed Forces. This new instrument will allow both mapping, surveillance and monitoring of the site”, highlighted Captain Bruno Tunes, from CENSIPAM.
To handle the aircraft, CENSIPAM employs at TIY: ground communication antennas, air control notebook, extra batteries and aviation fuel, as well as maintenance tools. Due to its flight and sensor characteristics, it is an instrument that requires specialized training and cannot be operated by anyone without certification.
Manufactured in Brazil by Xmobots, the Nauru 500C was delivered to CENSIPAM in 2023. The drone has an autonomy of 4 hours of flight in its hybrid version (fuel + battery), ensuring the presence of the Operation even in difficult-to-access places.
The use of SARPs by the Brazilian Armed Forces represents a significant advance for military operations and national defense. The use of technologies such as the Nauru 500C in Operation CATRIMANI II demonstrates the military's capacity for innovation and adaptation in facing complex challenges, such as combating illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
Since 2014, the FAB has operated the RQ-900 Hermes aircraft, which have sensors with high-definition cameras for obtaining images, in addition to laser marker lighting, and the RQ-1150 Heron I, which have an autonomy of up to 40 hours of flight. . These are operated, respectively, by the Horus Squadron (1st/12th GAV), from the Santa Maria Air Base (RS), and by the Orungan Squadron (1st/7th GAv), from the Santa Cruz Air Base (RJ).
