KC-390 Prototype Final Assembly Underway At Embraer

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Embraer will begin final assembly of the first KC-390 multirole tanker transport at the end of April, marking a major milestone in the Brazilian company’s ambitious plans to diversify into the military airlifter market.
The fuselage, empennage and wing sections of the first aircraft are being completed prior to assembly at a specially built production site at Gaviao Peixoto, Embraer’s extensive test facility near Araraquara in south-central Brazil. The final body join, expected to take around three weeks, starts the clock ticking on a fast-paced development-and-test program, which is set to begin with first flight at the end of this year and culminate in entry into service with the Brazilian air force (Forca Aerea Brasileira-FAB) in 2016.

The twin turbofan-powered airlifter was launched in 2009 when the Brazilian government signed a development contract with Embraer. “Negotiations are ongoing” to convert a letter of intent from the FAB for 28 aircraft into a firm production contract, says Fernando Fialho, KC-390 program strategy manager. The company, which is building the initial two KC-390 prototypes under a firm contract, expects negotiations to be completed in coming months. In addition, Embraer holds letters of intent for a further 32 aircraft from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

Based on FAB requirements for a replacement for its fleet of 22 C-130Hs, the 115.5-ft.-long KC-390 has emerged as a key competitor to Lockheed Martin’s C-130J. Embraer believes its fly-by-wire, turbofan-powered KC-390 could take a 15-20% portion of the C-130 replacement market, which it estimates as 728 aircraft in 77 countries. Designed with faster transit speeds in mind, the International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500-E5-powered aircraft will be able to make short-field takeoffs and landings from austere strips and yet have an airliner-like cruise speed of 465 kt. (Mach 0.8) at an operational ceiling of 36,000 ft. The maximum payload will be 57,320 lb. (26 tons), although design range with a distributed load of 50,700 lb. is 1,200 nm.

After a series of design evolutions the final configuration was confirmed following a critical design review in 2013. The KC-390’s cargo compartment is 41.6 ft. long, 11.3 ft. wide and varies in height from 10.5 ft. in the aft ramp area to 9.7 ft. in the forward fuselage. An integrated cargo-handling system is designed for loading vehicles or, alternately, up to seven 88-in.-wide 463L-standard military air cargo pallets or, in a mixed configuration, 36 troops or 30 paratroopers and six 463L pallets loaded lengthwise. Up to 80 regular troops can be transported in airlift operations. The ramp is 19 ft. long, 11.3 ft. wide, and total useful volume of the cargo compartment is 5,968 cu ft.

Unlike the traditional assembly of previous Embraer aircraft, which begins with integration of the wing box and center fuselage, the KC-390 fuselage will be put together before the high-mounted wing is added. Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody delivered the last major component, the rear fuselage, directly to Embraer in March, along with other elements including doors, hatches, the cargo ramp and fixed leading edge. The aft fuselage section, at 21.3 X 14.7 X 10.8 ft., was the largest single aerostructure ever made in the Czech Republic, according to Aero.

Other key structural partners include Argentina’s Fabrica Argentina de Aviones, which is responsible for the cargo ramp door, tail cone and spoilers; Portugal Engineering Manufacturing (OGMA), which provides fuselage panels, fairings and doors; St. Louis-based LMI Aerospace, supplier of leading-edge slats. Spain’s Aernnova, a longtime Embraer supplier with a plant in Sao Jose, is responsible for the composite flaps, ailerons and rudder.

An iron bird test rig for the KC-390 is also under assembly at Embraer’s Eugenio de Melo engineering facility in Sao Jose dos Campos. The rig will be used to validate avionics and flight controls, as well as electric and hydraulic systems. Close by in the same facility an engineering mockup of the cockpit and forward fuselage section has been assembled to help define the layout of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion flight-deck and mission-systems avionics, twin Elbit head-up displays and active side-stick controllers developed by BAE Systems. 

Brazilian Air Force awards Elbit Systems contract for supply of Hermes™ 900 UAS for security of 2014 FIFA World Cup Games

Elbit Systems announced today that it was awarded a contract by the Brazilian Air Force ("FAB") for the supply of a Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft System ("UAS"). The Hermes 900, which will be equipped with a new and advanced intelligence gathering system considered as a breakthrough operational solution, will be operated by FAB in combined missions with the Hermes 450 fleet, already in operational use. Both UAS will carry safety and security missions in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Games. The contract is in an amount that is not material to Elbit Systems, and the Hermes 900 will be supplied within two months.

Elad Aharonson, General Manager – Elbit Systems UAS Division, commented: "We are very proud to supply our Hermes 900 to FAB, which is the eighth customer to be equipped with this leading platform. We are honored to enable FAB to benefit from the advantages of joint flight operations, using both the Hermes 450 and the Hermes 900, a unique solution for intelligence missions, border protection, perimeter control of infrastructure and critical sites, as well as Safe City programs and large scale events."

Hermes 900, already in service with the Israeli Air Force and additional world leading armed forces, offers longer endurance, flight altitude of 30,000 ft. and a large payload capacity, suitable for carrying a wide range of payloads as well as capabilities to operate in adverse weather. The UAS is highly autonomous, enabling automatic takeoff and landing and includes advanced avionics and electronic systems. The system allows for joint flight missions with the Hermes 450, controlled and operated from the same universal ground control station, transmitting the gathered imagery, while using various communications systems.

http://ir.elbitsystems.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=61849&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1912412&highlight=

Brazil Plans to Build Aircraft Carrier

Sao Paulo Aircraft carrier currently in service with the Brazilian Navy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sao_Paulo_carrier.jpg

Brazil plans to build an aircraft carrier with a foreign partner as part of an effort to enhance its military readiness, Defense Minister Celso Amorim told reporters today.“The idea is for it to be built in Brazil, probably based on an existing project,” Amorim told a group of foreign correspondents.

Latin America’s largest country will require a new aircraft carrier within 15 years and will modernize its existing one in the meantime, Amorim said.

Brazilian Army to purchase SAAB RBS 70 VSHORAD Very Short Range Air Defense System Swedish SAAB RBS 70 VSHORAD

After contract for Brazil's Air force another major contract for SAAB Group from Brazil

Wikipedia

Defence and security company Saab has signed a contract on deliveries of the RBS 70 VSHORAD (very short range air defence system) to the Brazilian Army. The order has a value of approximately MSEK 80 and comprises deliveries of man-portable launchers, missiles and associated equipment. First deliveries of materiel are scheduled during 2014.

The deal comprises an undisclosed number of RBS 70 man-portable launchers, Mk II type missiles, simulators, night vision equipment, a test set, maintenance tools, spares, associated equipment, and training for the weapon's operators and maintainers. The systems are among others intended to protectBrazil’s strategic infrastructure, and would be employed in protection of major incoming events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

BRAZIL UPGRADES ITS SAO PAULO CARRIER – ANALYSIS

An obscure fact of Latin American military affairs is that the Brazilian Navy possesses its own aircraft carrier. The vessel, now five decades old, is currently undergoing repairs so that it can serve for at least a decade more. Nevertheless, given the fast pace of South American geopolitics and geosecurity affairs, serious questions should be raised whether or not Brazil actually needs a carrier in its fleet.

The Carrier

Brazil acquired its carrier from France in November 2000: the vessel is a non-nuclear, 36,000 ton, Clemenceau-type carrier, which was constructed in the early 1960s.The carrier, originally known as the Foch while it flew the French flag, “entered the dry-dock stage in Saint-Nazaire in 1957 and was launched three years later. It was towed to the Brest arsenal for completion. It entered active service in 1963 and ceased to be armed by the French Navy in 2000, when the Charles de Gaulle CVN came into service.”

When it was sold to Brazil, the Foch was renamed as Sao Paulo. It is worth noting that the Sao Paulo replaced Brazil’s other carrier, the Minas Gerais, which was launched by England during World War II (then known as the HMS Vengeance). The Minas Gerais served for 41 years in the Brazilian Navy starting in 1960 until it was decommissioned in 2001.

The website MilitaryFactory.com provides some additional details about the Sao Paulo, explaining that it “showcases a typical Western aircraft profile with a flat, unobstructed flight deck and starboard, … her deck allows for the launching of two fixed-wing aircraft simultaneously.”  The massive vessel has an overall length of 869 feet and is able to make headway at a top speed of 32 knots. According to details that have been released, the carrier has a crew of over 1,900 sailors. As for the aircraft that it transports, a December 2013 press release by the French shipbuilder DCNS, which is currently upgrading the Sao Paulo, says that the Brazilian warship has 18 Douglas A-4 Sky Hawk warplanes.  Meanwhile, a December 2012 note in Brazilian news agency R7 explains that the carrier also has Super Puma transport helicopters and Esquilo light helicopters. Tragically, the Sao Paulo has not served in the Brazilian Navy without incidents, as on-board fires in 2005 and 2012 killed and injured a number of sailors.

The Sao Paulo is the only carrier currently in use by a Latin American Navy. Nevertheless, COHA has been unable to unearth information on the types of operations this carrier has been involved in during the decade that it has been flying the Brazilian flag. An analysis in the website WarisBoring.com explains that the Sao Paulo has participated in naval exercises, such as sailing with a U.S. carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan.Additionally Argentine warplanes have occasionally landed on the Brazilian carrier, which serves as a confidence-building initiative between the naval forces of the two neighboring states.

Upgrade

It would appear that the Brazilian Navy has plans for the aging Sao Paulo. In early January 2014, the Spanish news agency Infodefensa.com reported that the French shipbuilding company DCNS had been asked by the Brazilian Navy to inspect the Sao Paulo’s forward catapult. The repairs to the Sao Paulo began in November 2013 at a naval base in Rio de Janeiro.



Regarding the rehabilitation of the Brazilian warship, a December 2013 press release by DCNS explains that “the steam catapult, which already performed over 5000 launches, is a key element for the aircraft carrier capability.” The French company has praised itself for its work on modernizing the Sao Paulo as it also reported that “after the team’s intervention, the catapult was dry-fired twice, demonstrating the expected performance. The Brazilian authorities expressed satisfaction.”

Brazil’s Evolving Military and Geopolitics

Thanks to its strong economy over the past decade, the Brazilian armed forces are carrying out important arms purchases which will help the Portuguese-speaking giant consolidate itself as Latin America’s foremost military power.

Throughout the past decades, COHA has written several comprehensive reports on Brazil’s military and its arms acquisitions – we will enumerate just a few of the more prominent examples here. Apart from the Sao Paulo’s upgrades, the Brazilian Navy is constructing a nuclear-powered submarine, with French aid. The submarine has been a dream of the Navy since the country’s 1964-1985 military regime. [13] Paris is also helping Brazil to build four diesel-electric submarines, variants of the French Scorpene design.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Air Force is getting a revamp as Brasilia has already selected, after several years of negotiations, the Gripen (produced by the Swedish company Saab) as its new warplane. For years, analysts such as those posted at COHA believed that the Brazilian government would choose the Rafale warplane produced by the Swedish Dassault. But in December 2013 Brasilia ultimately chose the Swedish model.  Brazil will purchase 36 Gripen warplanes in a deal reported to be worth around $4.5 billion USD. As for the Brazilian Army, it has purchased Shorad missiles to upgrade its arsenal. The missiles will be used to protect the skies of the cities that will host the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup.

It is worth noting that defense-related foreign dignitaries regularly travel to Brazil to lobby the Dilma Rousseff government in an effort to persuade it to buy more weaponry. For example, the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu travelled to Brasilia in October 2013 to discuss the sales of the Pantsir-S1 and Igla missile system, a deal which if agreed upon in the coming months, could be worth up to $1 billion. [17] Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande visited Brazil this past December 2013 to convince the Brazilian government to purchase the Dassault warplanes – an unsuccessful visit as Brasilia chose the Swedish Gripen.

This is not to say that other nations in the Western Hemisphere have not also acquired new military equipment over the past decade. For example, the Venezuelan military has also spent billions of dollars to upgrade its own military, mostly by turning to Russia as a major weapons supplier. Nevertheless, as the Russian media even admits, Russia-Venezuela military relations in the post-Hugo Chávez have not been particularly ideal for business. An October 2013 commentary in the Russian news agency Pravda explains, “All major contracts were tied to late president Hugo Chávez . After his death, against the backdrop of complications of the socio-economic situation in the country, defense cooperation with Russia actually came to a standstill … new Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is not ready to agree on new [contracts].”

Threats?

The aforementioned article by MilitaryFactory.com concludes, “the Sao Paulo remains a critical cog to Brazilian Navy operations in the region, both for stability and in power across Atlantic-facing South American and Latin American waters. For any modern naval power, the aircraft carrier is the heart and soul of the fleet.”
But does Brazil actually need a carrier? Certainly such a vessel is an example of a naval power as it helps Brazil’s Navy increase its power projection or powers. Rising global powers such as China acquire carriers in order to assert themselves as global naval powers.  On the other hand, other nations that already possess these gigantic warships are suffering from an economic crunch and are re-organizing their armed forces. An example of this is the British military, which plans to eliminate some 20 thousand military personnel across the three branches over the next years, including 6,000 sailors.  The British Navy is developing two new carriers, the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales, but they have stirred controversy because of high costs and the reduction of naval personnel.

As for Brazil, the country is largely devoid of any major security threats that would make a compelling case for its Navy to have a carrier (or plan for a new one within the coming decade). Relations between Brazil and Venezuela during the Hugo Chávez presidency were rarely troubling and commerce was a strong confidence building mechanism to prevent tensions from escalating. Furthermore, in late 2013, there was a major air force exercise in northern Brazil in which several Western Hemisphere air forces participated, including the U.S. and Venezuela.

Moreover, it would be bizarre to believe that a carrier is needed for protection against some of Brazil’s smaller neighbors like Guyana, Suriname or Uruguay. Likewise, relations with Peru and Colombia are generally cordial, with this being reflected in the inter-agency cooperation against transnational criminal activity like drug trafficking.  Furthermore, while Argentina was once a serious contender to Brazil’s military role in Latin America, today the Argentine armed forces is a fragment of what it once was. (We do not count Bolivia and Paraguay in this analysis since, even though both nations border Brazil, neither possesses sea access).

One argument for a naval build up could be that the carrier and nuclear-powered submarine will help safeguard Brazil’s coast, specially its off-shore oil platforms. The government has sold oil blocs to international oil companies, a move that Brazilian oil workers protested against in 2013. [26] It should be noted that also in 2013 the Brazilian Navy has also acquired three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for protecting its ports and oil platforms from the British manufacturing giant BAE Systems.Certainly, an argument can be made that the Brazilian Navy needs even more vessels to protect its coastal and off-shore installations; but which country or criminal network will want to attack them is far from clear.

As a final point, it is true that a carrier helps a nation’s naval stature, but the vessel also needs to take part in some kind of naval maneuver in order to showcase that it is operational and helpful. Military exercises with other navies are a good example of this. But one could wonder if the Sao Paulo, once it is operational again and before it is retired, could end up being used as a support vessel for some multinational security operation, either as part of the United Nations or some international coalition combating piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Conclusions

Reporting on the Gripen warplane deal this past December 19, 2013 the defense news website Defense Industry Daily explained that the Brazilian Navy “intends to buy 24 fighters of its own, to operate from the carrier that replaces Nae Sao Paulo beginning in 2025.”  Both an April 29, 2013 article in Defense Industry Daily as well as an April 2013 article a Brazilian website called Defesa Aerea & Naval also mention rumors that a new aircraft carrier currently being developed by the aforementioned DCNS (the project is called PA 2) may be sold to Brazil as France is no longer interested in acquiring it.

It is likely that the Sao Paulo will retire within the next decade. This is logical since the vessel is already over 50 years old and it may prove to be more costly to constantly upgrade and repair it instead of buying a new one. Whether Brazil actually needs a carrier, be it the Sao Paulo or a new one ten years from now, remains a highly debatable issue. A case can be made that the carrier can help protect Brazil’s extensive maritime interests, but it is doubtful that the country will face any conceivable major security threats, i.e. a war with another nation, in the near future. Brazil’s carrier may be one of the least well known and used strategic assets in Latin American military history and in the future.

Brazil Opts for the Gripen NG after NSA spying sours Boeing bid - Saab shares soar

Brasilia: Saab AB beat out Boeing Co. to supply 36 jet fighters for Brazil’s air force after President Dilma Rousseff called alleged US spying on her government an affront to the South American nation.
The deal is worth $4.5 billion through 2023, the defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. “Brazil picked Saab over the Chicago-based company because of the performance and cost of its aircraft as well as willingness to transfer technology,” defence minister Celso Amorim told reporters in Brasilia. The other finalist was Paris-based Dassault Aviation SA.

Rousseff in September called off her state visit to Washington following reports the US National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted her communications with staff. On Wednesday she said the armed forces had a key role in strengthening cyber-security to protect privacy and Brazil’s sovereignty.
“Boeing only didn’t win the deal because of the lack of trust created by the spying incident,” Welber Barral, who was Brazil’s trade secretary from 2007 to 2011, said by phone. “Had the decision been last year, Boeing would have won.”

Boeing is disappointed and will work with Brazil’s air force to determine why it lost, according to an e-mail statement from the company.“Brazil’s government will maintain close commercial ties with the US,” Amorim said.

Brazil expects to sign the aircraft contract within 12 months, Air Force Commander Juniti Saito told reporters. Saab’s Gripen NG fighter jet will replace the Mirage 2000 that Brazil’s air force is scheduled to retire on 20 December. “It will be based on a similar model already being used in other countries,” Saito said.Saab offered a financing package and collaboration between the Swedish and Brazilian governments as part of its bid, the company said in a statement e-mailed yesterday.

It has marketed the aircraft as a less costly and more reliable alternative than that of some of its competitors. Switzerland has committed to buying 22 of the jets, though the decision may face a national referendum next year. Current Gripen versions are in service with the Swedish air force as well as the South African, Thai, Hungarian and Czech Republic armed forces.

Brazil’s decision is a setback for Dassault’s Rafale aircraft, which has struggled to build a presence outside France, with only India so far saying it wants to buy the fighter jet.

Embraer Defense & Security delivers the first modernized A-1 fighter jet to the Brazilian Air Force

São Paulo, Brazil, September 3, 2013 – Embraer Defense & Security held the delivery ceremony, today, for the first modernized A-1 (A-1M) fighter jet to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) at its industrial plant in Gavião Peixoto, in outstate São Paulo. The event was attended by the Aeronautics Commander, Air Force General Juniti Saito, and officers from the FAB’s High Command. O A-1M program provides for refurbishing and modernizing 43 subsonic AMX jets, 16 of which are already at the Company’s facilities.


 The A-1M jet has the capability of performing air-to-ground attack, bombing, tactical air support and reconnaissance missions. The modernized FAB airplanes will receive new systems for navigation, weaponry, oxygen generation, multimode radar, and electronic countermeasures. This equipment, along with structural refurbishment, will allow these jets to continue operating until 2025. According to the Embraer modernization program, the A-1Ms will receive systems that are similar to those that are also found on the F-5Ms and the A-29 Super Tucanos belonging to the FAB. This will assist with the adaptation period of the pilots and provides standardization with numerous operational advantages, such as improved fleet management policy, better output in terms of flight hours, and reduced maintenance and operating costs.


The program also includes providing briefing and debriefing stations that will be used for training and improving the proficiency of the pilots of the FAB squadrons, and make it possible to get better use of the equipment, reduce costs, and achieve greater effectiveness in mission planning and execution. Therefore, the FAB will then have a state-of-the-art attack aircraft, with the latest generation of avionics and embedded systems, which ensure the capability of fulfilling the mission of defending the sovereignty of Brazil’s air space with excellence. “The A-1 fighter jets are fundamental elements for the defense of Brazil, including its territorial coastal waters. We have been very successful in using this aircraft on such highly complex operations as the Cruzex and Red Flag exercises. Its modernization presents a big gain in capability, along with adequate cost-benefit, and, once again, it shows the value of the Nation’s industry,” points out the Aeronautics Commander, Air Force General Juniti Saito. “The delivery of the first A-1M marks another special moment in the long and successful history of relations between the FAB and Embraer,” said Luiz Carlos Aguiar, President of Embraer Defense & Security. “This aircraft will be very useful for maintaining the operational capability of the Brazilian Air Force.”

Indian AWACS Moving Forward on 2 Fronts

In recent years India has been shifting toward aircraft that would give it the ability to patrol and act at extended ranges. In January 2004, India and Israel signed a $1.1 billion contract for 3 Phalcon airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, as part of a $1.5 billion tripartite agreement with Russia. With the arrival of its first IL-76 Phalcon, India joined the global ranks of AWACS operators. The aircraft will monitor huge swathes of Indian airspace, intercept communications and log radar frequencies, add some ground surveillance, and help command IAF responses.

At the same time, India moved to implement AWACS capabilities on a 2nd, smaller, platform, in order to provide broader coverage. The goal there is to field a Tier 2 platform based on Embraer’s ERJ-145 jet, and Indian radar and electronics, allowing India to join the global ranks of AWACS designers. Just to make things interesting, their arch-rival Pakistan offers a contrasting case study, with quicker fielding of off-the shelf buys from China (Y-8 based ZDK-03) and Sweden (Saab 2000 Erieye).