The Commander of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, received representatives from the manufacturers Boeing and Saab on Thursday (22). The officer spoke with executives about the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol plane and the T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet.
Present were Regional Director Tim Flood, accompanied by Business Director Donn Yates; Regional Leader Pablo Weltman, and Business Developers Tomas Karlsson and Kistian Skoog.
On behalf of the FAB, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Major-Brigadier of the Air Valter Borges Malta, and the President of the Coordinating Committee of the Combat Aircraft Program, Brigadier of the Air Antonio Luiz Godoy Soares Mioni Rodrigues also participated in the meeting.
This week's conversation is the result of the Captain's first meeting with Boeing's regional director, during the Farnborough air show, in England. At the opportunity, the two talked about the innovations in the aviation market.
According to the FAB, from that meeting, the need and interest arose to complement information on two important Boeing projects. One of them is the T-7A aircraft, developed in partnership with SAAB, as an advanced trainer jet to replace the T-38 Talon.
Flood and Baptista Jr. they also talked about the P-8 Poseidon, the main maritime patrol aircraft in operation with the US Navy. Developed primarily to replace the P-3 Orion, the Poseidon is among the most modern military jets, acquired by seven other countries besides the United States.
According to the FAB Commander, the meeting was of paramount importance to prospect the future of Maritime Patrol Aviation in Brazil, since there is a need to discuss the replacement of the P-3AM Orion aircraft, used in long-range patrolling. .
“The P-8 aircraft is based on the Boeing 737NG platform, with more than 150 units in service. In this way, it has proven to be a very important project and weapon system, especially for a country like ours with 8.500 kilometers of coastline”, Explica.
With the aim of bringing innovation and development, Boeing's Regional Director in South America highlighted the meeting as essential to discuss projects and their potential. Thus, they were able to discuss Brazilian industrial development and the FAB fleet of aircraft – which features models such as the A-29 Super Tucano and the F-39 Gripen – considered one of the largest in Latin America.
“With this meeting, we will be able to start building a partnership for the future and prosperous development of the Brazilian Air Force. This is because we believe that we can contribute in several segments, with the objective of helping to guarantee the security of the country”, highlighted.
Flood also highlighted that the meeting provided the opportunity to present more information on how to develop programs and modernize aircraft in order to preserve the environment. “The P-8 is an aircraft that could bring great benefits to Brazil, operating in several segments and being considered one of the best in the world”, said.
The FAB Commander was invited to visit Boeing's facilities in Saint Louis, USA, and test the capabilities of the T-7A Red Hawk aircraft in a demonstration flight. The use of training jets by the FAB has been the subject of discussion for a long time, especially after the AT-26 Xavante was withdrawn in 2010.
A Air Force assessed the impact of the transition from the A-29 to the 1st line aircraft (F-5M and AMX A-1), without the aviators ing through a jet after training at the Air Force Academy. In April, Baptista Jr. flew the Leonardo M346 in Italy, an advanced training jet and light fighter/attack.
The importance of Patrol Aviation
Emerged in Brazil during the Second World War, the Brazilian Patrol Aviation has the mission of guarding and protecting, 24 hours a day, an area of approximately 13,5 million square kilometers.
It is up to Patrol Aviation, for example, to monitor the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, located in the Atlantic Ocean, where the largest national oil reserves are located, including the pre-salt area. In addition, it helps, together with the Brazilian Navy, to guarantee the safety of maritime transport lines, since 95% of the products sold are transported by sea.
In the current context, the conflict in Ukraine has clearly shown the importance of guaranteeing security and free access to ports and maritime routes for the flow of produced wealth and the supply of the population.
With Brazilian air force, adapted by AEROFLAP.
