Opptions for MdB

It has beeen anounced that the Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy) are wanting to now upgrade their AF-1/A (T/A-4 Skyhawks). the systems that they are wanting would put them on par with the Kahu’s or the ARG-1’s of the Argentine Air Force

Now that the A-4K’s are up for sale, why don’t they buy them and form VF-2, a second squadron to opperate from the Sao Paulo A-12? This could they free VF-1 for concerntration on attack missions and use the new VF-2 for fighter duties?

Add to this, the imminent retirement of the TA-4S-1’s of the RSAF. Now if the MdB could buy just 6 of these they could then form VT-1, a dedicated training wing for the use of the Skyhawks. The savings on training could surmount, at present all pilots must travel to the US to train on equipment that will never be used by Brazil, just to get “Carrier qualified”. Everyone here with half a mind will agree that in house training is better than out sourced training, especially when the training is in a forgien country!

Also on the wish list of the MdB, is the aqusition of an organic AEW platform. Opptions open for this are very limited considering the ship.
France tried in vein to sell some old Alize, but wisely MdB said no, the cost of modifying the planes to serve them would have been a huge drain.
E-1’s were rhoumored to have been looked at, but this opption, whilest good in the terms of logistics (85% comminality with the S-2’s in service already), presents more of an obsolesence problem that the Alize’s did.
Reports going around at the moment are sugesting that they are looking at puting an Errieye type radar on a Tracker airframe. The two biggest problems here are that the Radar is over 3M longer than the plane and cost of development would then reduce the order to a negligable amount.

So this leaves two possibilities:
1. Seaking AEW Mk2A’s or
2. E-2 Hawkeye
Of these, the hawkeye’s have been trialed on the ship (Under the French for selection to fulfill their own requirment), so opperating these planse are not really a problem, just the cost. Should MdB take on this opption, they would be forced to take a small number (Perhaps 2 or 3), and possibily of an older model (maybe B’s or early C’s)
That leaves us with the last opption, the Seakings. These are very fine machines and share the highest comminality factor of and sub varrient in an service. And since the MdB already opperate the Seaking this could be the best opption for them. But the AEW Mk2 does have it’s own drawbacks:- Limited altitude, and limited range are a couple of the major points. Still, the British don’t have as big a problem with selling equipment to Brazil as what the Americans do! This opption could give them a ground base for their own people at Embraer to develope a platform of their own thus completing the in house cycle.

Lastly there is the S-2 upgrade or replacement. I personally, am very fond of the Tracker, and am happy to see it still flying, that having been said, what opptions are available to keep it in the air, several. Of these the recent applications of the FAA (Argentine Air Force), with their underwing stores trials and extra fuel in the bombbay to increase the range, as well as the Marsh Tracker Upgrade has made thire machines a potent force to be reckond with! Should the MdB go ahaed with something along these lines we could see the emergence of a true power projection force from South America.

What ever the action, no-one can deny, Marinha do Brasil are on a build up, it should be interesting to see how far this goes.

Live hard, play hard, die happy!