A technological milestone for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). This Wednesday (16), the FAB held a demonstration of the Flight Test Campaign of the Link-BR2 System: a development project that will expand the aircraft's communication capacity. The event took place in Wing 3, in Canoas (RS).
The Coordinating Committee of the Combat Aircraft Program (COPAC) and the company AEL Sistemas presented the development of the Link-BR2 Project to the Air Force Commander, Lieutenant-Brigadier of the Air Antonio Carlos Moretti Bermudez, who was accompanied by the Commander of Wing 3, Brigadier of Air Mauro Bellintani, and other General Officers of the Brazilian Air Force and the Ministry of Defense.
The F-5M aircraft, belonging to the First Squadron of the Fourteenth Aviation Group (1st/14th GAV) – Pampa Squadron, was prepared with equipment and antennas for the installation of the system, which will allow the FAB to communicate, in real time, between aerial vectors and Command and Control stations.
The communication for which the system is developed will be carried out through an encrypted protocol with a high degree of security, providing the sharing of messages and other operational applications, allowing the expansion of situational awareness of all network participants, in the air and on the ground .
The Air Force Commander commented on the importance of implementing the System for the FAB.
“Link-BR2 is really going to be a watershed in the most modern communications, data and voice, which will greatly contribute to the exercises and operations carried out by our Forces: Navy, Army and Air Force”, informed.
According to the President of COPAC, Air Brigadier Major Valter Borges Malta, the Link-BR2 Project aims at real-time communication between air vectors and Command and Control stations.
“Carrying out the Flight Test Campaign is a very important stage of the entire project, as it brings to life years of work and development by various sectors of the FAB and the Company. The Link-BR2 system is a reality and, in the future, it will be on board the F-39 Gripen fighters that are currently being developed in Sweden and Brazil”, highlighted the General Officer.
The test pilot from the Institute for Research and Flight Tests (IPEV), Lieutenant Colonel José Ricardo Drozdz, who flew the F-5M with the on-board system this Wednesday (16), explained the advances brought about by the new technology.
“For the Air Force, the Link-BR2 system will bring an unparalleled operational gain, as all aircraft in the Theater of Operations will be able to receive information and also send messages and data to ground stations, in order to increase the situational awareness of all those involved in the operations”, said.
In addition to COPAC, the Link-BR2 Project relies on the thematic management of the Aerospace Operations Command (COMAE); the General Command (COMGAP); the Preparation Command (COMPREP); the General Staff of the Air Force (EMAER); the Department of Air Space Control (DECEA); the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA); the Aeronautics Intelligence Center (CIAER); and the Institute for Promotion and Industrial Coordination (IFI).
Visit to AEL facilities
Before the demonstration flight, this Wednesday morning (16), the delegation visited the facilities of the Company AEL Sistemas, in Porto Alegre, where the Link-BR2 Project is developed.
Representatives of the Armed Forces got to know up close areas of development and production of avionics and systems, as well as attended a demonstration of interoperability between communication equipment used by the Navy, Army and Brazilian Air Force, such as the Defense Software Defined Radio (RDS -Defense).
AEL Sistemas' Program Director, Leonardo Martins Vegini, commented on the event.
“The visit by the Air Force Command, together with representatives from the Ministry of Defense, represents a lot for the company AEL Sistemas, as we were able to present all the developments that we have with the Air Force, such as the Gripen, the KC-390, the Link -BR2, the remotely piloted aircraft and the communication part. So, it was something very relevant, which culminated in the in-flight demonstration of the Link-BR2 system, which will bring many additional and operational capabilities to the Brazilian Air Force and which makes us very proud as Brazilians”"he said.
Flight Test Campaign
After an extensive period of preparation and planning, on December 1st, in Wing 3, the first flight of a FAB aircraft took place as a participant in the Flight Test Campaign of the Link-BR2 Project, marking its beginning.
During the month of November, FAB teams were in Rio Grande do Sul in order to the project's development phases and carry out preparatory activities for the start of the Flight Test Campaign.
The flight was carried out by IPEV crew who, in coordination with the company and representatives from COMPREP and COPAC, carried out the first assessments of the system.
The FAB test pilot and Director of IPEV, Colonel Aviator Marcelo Zampier Bussmann, performed the first flight in the F-5M, with the Link-BR2 system on board.
“The integration of the system proved to be very robust, with no interference problems with the systems already incorporated in the F-5M aircraft. It is a great satisfaction to be able to fly for the first time a system conceived by countless people from the FAB, developed by a Brazilian company and that will definitively contribute to providing situational awareness in the Theater of Operations and general tactical advantage in air combat”, highlighted the Officer.
The project is expected to be completed in 2021. The same system will be applied to the FAB's new fighter, the F-39 Gripen, and, strategically, to other operational aircraft.
