Cruzex 2018 has started! Since the 18th, with the official photo that marked the beginning of the year, the movements in ALA 10 and over the Potiguar sky were very intense.
Exercise Cruzeiro do Sul is organized by the FAB and has been held since 2002. The last edition of Cruzex was five years ago, in 2013, also in Natal-RN. Cruzex 2018 marks the return of this year that encomes 13 nations and more than 100 aircraft.
Aeroflap deployed a team of journalists and photographers to cover the exercise from the 18th to the 23rd of November. This operation is the most important organized by the FAB. Check below how Aeroflap's coverage days at Cruzex 2018 were.
The Exercise will take place until November 30th and has the participation of 12 nations, seven participating with aircraft and personnel and five as observers.
Day 19/11
The second day of operations was dedicated to familiarization flights and the first with the press, which could cover all days of operations.
From 9:30 am, a press conference was held with the presence of the Director of the exercise, Brigadier of the Air Luiz Guilherme Silveira de Medeiros and with representatives of the participating countries. The press conference featured a presentation video of the event, some speeches by Brigadier Medeiros and also by some military representatives of the nations involved. After that, the possibility of questions from the journalists and photographers who were there covering the event was opened.
At the press conference, the then director of the exercise informed the reason for this five-year lapse. According to , Brigadier Luiz Guilherme, during these five years there were the World Cup, the Olympics and the FAB underwent a general restructuring. With all that going on, it was difficult to focus on a complex exercise like Cruzex.
Finally, the 40 names chosen by the FAB to make the Media Flight were named, where the chosen press would fly in a C-105 Amazonas, take pictures of the fighter jets of each country with the coastline of the city of Natal as the background.
However, after all the briefing and training for the operation and already in flight, it was necessary to return to the WING 10, as the Media Flight had been canceled due to a breakdown in one of the aircraft that would be photographed. The press professionals returned to the press room and were informed by Cecomsaer that the Media Flight flight would take place the following day (20/11).
Despite the cancellation of the flight throughout the day, pilot familiarization flights took place. These flights took place on Monday and Tuesday 20/11.
Day 20/11
The schedule for the 20th was intense with takeoffs, tickets, landing and of course, clicks too. The press service began at 9:30 am, where it was informed that journalists, photographers, spotters and videographers would go to the patio to take pictures of the movement of the aircraft, which is already intense early in the morning.
At 10:30 am, the press had access to the patio next to the control tower (TWR) of Wing 10, where you can climb it to have a different angle of photos. Groups were separated so that everyone had such an opportunity, while a group was in the tower, another remained on the ground, being able to photograph normally. They stayed at the site for the whole morning and, after the end, the media professionals were sent to a room so that they could on information regarding the afternoon.
Media Flight (20/11)
The flight that takes place with the press at Cruzex is one of the great highlights of the exercise, as it is a rare opportunity to take a flight where you can photograph another aircraft head-on. The list of 40 nominees for the flight followed the same as on the 19th.
The time for the start of the breafing was at 12:30 pm, where all the steps that would be taken on the flight and also the safety procedures were reviewed. Once that was done, it was time to put on the “monkey tail” (safety equipment used to secure the person to the aircraft on flights with the rear door open). After everyone was ready, they went to the operational area where everyone was boarded and then they could start the engines and finally take off.
The C-105 taxied to runway 16L of ALA 10 and took off, shortly after which the aircraft remained in orbit until the seven fighters that would be photographed took off.
Given the order, he finally opened the back door and the photographers went in groups of 3 to 4 people to the back door of the Amazon and started taking pictures and videos. Each group had a time of 3 minutes to make the necessary images. First, the flight was over the coast and famous tourist spots in the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, then a new opportunity was given to photographers to take new images and videos, but this time ing over ALA 10 .
The formation consisted of an A-1M, an F-5EM and an A-4 from the Brazilian Navy, thus completing the Brazilian representation; two F-16s – one Chilean and one North American; a Uruguayan A-37 and a Peruvian Mirage 2000P.
At the end, the aircraft proceeded to land where an official photo of the participants and the crew of the C-105 was taken by the FAB, finally those selected for the flight proceeded to the press room.
Day 21/11
The third day was actually dedicated to operational flights at Cruzex, between Monday and Tuesday familiarization flights were made. From 8:30 am on Wednesday (21) several flights took place in the morning and the photographers and all the media that was accredited to cover the exercise were moved to the “Spotter Point”, a special area where you can take pictures of aircraft taking off and landing. On this day, there were more than 59 takeoffs of all participating aircraft that went to the planned missions.
In the afternoon, an even larger wave of takeoffs took place and again the media was moved to the photography point, which on that day was close to the head of 16L.
Day 22/11
The last day of Aeroflap's coverage of the Cruzex exercise featured a lot of noise from fighter jets and other aircraft. The last day followed as the others, a set of departures in the morning and another in the afternoon. In both situations, the accredited press had access to a point to record images and videos of aircraft operations.
Transport aviation at Cruzex 2018
Transport aviation is in full force (literally) in the Cruzex exercise. The FAB sent 10 C-2M and 130 KC-1 to ALA 130, in addition to 3 C-105 Amazonas, one of which was SAR.
Moving to the international scene, Canada sent 2 C-130J, 1 C-232.
The US sent a KC-135 that served for Revo missions for the F-16C fighters. Chile also sent a KC-135 that came making Revos in the F-16A MLU of the Chilean Air Force.
Navy participation with the VF-1 Sea Falcons Squadron
For the first time in the Cruzex exercise, the Brazilian Navy is participating in operations in Natal with aircraft from the VF-1 Interception and Attack Squadron, known as “Falcões do Mar”. The VF-1 squadron is based at the Naval Air Base of São Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro and has A-4 Skyhawk aircraft (AF-1A and AF-1B-Designation in the MB (A-4KU in the fighter's international designation). The Navy's aircraft are undergoing a modernization process by Embraer and some units that have already been modernized have already been delivered to the squadron.
The Aeroflap team interviewed the Commander of the VF-1 Squadron, Frigate Captain Brito Coelho, below is the interview with the Captain:
- What are the expectations due to the first participation of the VF-1 Squadron in Cruzex?
Frigate Captain - Brito Coelho: "Expectations are quite high. The idea of our air-naval means was very well received by the Air Force and we were embraced to be here participating in these exercises, it is a unique opportunity for us to be here improving our knowledge and working in conjunction with the three forces. The report I have from the pilots has been very enriching”.
- How are the flights with the FAB and with aircraft from other nations going, are they enriching?
Frigate Captain - Brito Coelho: "Yes definitely. The design of the exercise itself is a conjunction not only here in Brazil but also with all the air forces that have participated. There is a very large exchange of information in a given mission, we learn from them and they learn from us. The big word is learning.”
- What are the main changes to the A-4 Skyhawk after modernization?
Frigate Captain - Brito Coelho: “The big upgrade that our A-4s had was the avionics part, like modern sensors, radios and with this exercise we improve operations even more. Despite being an air-naval force, we learned a lot and we can put this into practice within the naval force”.
- Did you do any training in Anápolis before coming here?
Frigate Captain - Brito Coelho: “Exactly, when we accepted the challenge of participating here flying Cruzex, we started a very intense training both theoretically and on land, we had the help of the FAB in this part of theoretical instruction and then we participated in the BVR exercise there in Anápolis (ALA2) which is basically the same type of job that is seen here at Cruzex and from then on we are here carrying out this unprecedented exercise, but we accept the challenge and we will fulfill the mission”.
- Based on what was already done at Cruzex 2018, is there an intention of the Navy to participate in Cruzex again?
Frigate Captain - Brito Coelho: “Certainly, this is the main intention, the three forces are increasingly integrated and this generally demonstrates to the world that Brazil has three well-integrated armed forces”. “So the expectation is that in other editions we will participate with more aircraft and means and that this exercise will be bigger and bigger”.
- Captain, Thank you very much for the interview.
“I appreciate the opportunity.”
Check out more images from the first week of Cruzex below:
