On January 16, a meeting was held between the Navy's Aeronautics Board and Embraer.
On the occasion, the progress of the modernization program was presented and a visit was made to the aircraft assembly line at the Embraer Defense and Security manufacturing unit, in Gavião Peixoto, SP.
In 2009, Embraer and the Brazilian Navy signed a R$106 million contract to modernize nine AF-1s and three AF-1As. But so far only two aircraft have been delivered already modernized to the Brazilian Navy.
The Brazilian Navy has operated A-4 Skyhawks since 1997, when it purchased 23 McDonnell Douglas A-4 KU Skyhawk jets from Kuwait.
Since then, these aircraft have had great prominence within the MB because, together with them, the then-A-12 São Paulo aircraft carrier placed Brazil in a select group in which it operates fixed-wing aircraft from a vessel.
With the deactivation of the aircraft carrier São Paulo, the use of naval fighters for the basic missions of the aircraft, which were the airborne operation, ended.
The Squadron VF-1 Seahawks still operates the aircraft and tries to maintain the operability of the squadron and the few A-4 or AF-1 (as they are known within the Navy).
The last time that Navy aircraft participated in an exercise was during CRUZEX 2018, Natal-RN, last November.
