Brazilian Army Aviation

Brazilian Army Aviation
Aviação do Exército
Brazilian Army Aviation patch
Active	1919–1941, 3 September 1986–present
Country	Brazil
Type	Army aviation
Size	95 helicopters
Part of	Brazilian Army
Garrison/HQ	Taubaté
Patron	Ricardo Kirk
Commanders
Commander	Brigade General Achilles Furlan Neto[1]
Aircraft flown
Attack	AS550N
Reconnaissance	AS550N, AS 365 K
Trainer	HB 350 L1
Transport	AS 365 K, AS 532 UE, EC725 Super Cougar

Brazilian Army of the Brazilian Armed Forces
History and future
19th century 20th century 21st century Future
Commands and components
High Command General Staff Aviation Command
Air and space command
COMAE
Equipment
Current
v t e

The Brazilian Army Aviation (Portuguese: Aviação do Exército; AvEx) is the air segment of the Brazilian Army, operating rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) in conjunction with surface forces such as the 12th Light Infantry Brigade (Airmobile). Originally founded with aircraft in 1919, it ceased to exist in 1941, re-emerging in its current form in 1986. It has mainly transport aircraft in addition to light attack helicopters, but does not use dedicated attack helicopters. Its command (CAvEx) in Taubaté, São Paulo, is linked to the Land Operations Command, in Brasília, and the Southeastern Military Command. CAvEx only has subordinates in the 1st and 2nd battalions, also in Taubaté. The 3rd and 4th are respectively in Campo Grande and Manaus, subordinate to the Western and Amazonian Military Commands, and there is a detachment in Belém, in the Northern Military Command.

The original Army Aviation, based on fixed-wing aircraft, became the army's fifth branch in 1927, but was united with Naval Aviation in 1941 to form the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). Later, the Brazilian Army recreated aviation with a new military technology, helicopters. There had been interest since the 1960s, but army aviation only returned in the 1980s, when it was the star of the modernization program, "Land Force 90", requiring heavy investments and the training of highly specialized workforce. As part of the army's "core of modernity", AvEx was protected from budget cuts in the following decade and became a strategic force, capable of rapid mobilization to any part of Brazil. Precisely for this reason it was created in Taubaté, in the central nucleus of the country and close to the aeronautical industry in the Paraíba Valley. Later, the units were deconcentrated, but the bulk of the personnel remains in Taubaté.

AvEx is especially important for mobility in the Amazon, where it had its "baptism of fire" in Operation Traíra, in 1991. In the 21st century it is widely used in the security of large events and operations to guarantee law and order. Helicopters operate in close coordination with ground forces in logistics, reconnaissance, fire support and troop transport roles. Its priority function was originally conceived as air assault, inserting troops from the 12th Brigade behind enemy lines, but the number of helicopters is a limitation. Pilots and specialists (such as flight mechanics) are respectively officers and sergeants trained at the Army Aviation Instruction Center (Centro de Instrução de Aviação do Exército, CIAvEx). Helicopter logistics are complex and depend on imported technology. The Maintenance and Supply Battalion (Batalhão de Manutenção e Suprimento, BMS), in Taubaté, has the mission of keeping 70% of the helicopters available for immediate use, while the Taubaté Aviation Base (Base de Aviação de Taubaté, BAvT) manages the infrastructure and carries out air traffic control. The fleet corresponded to 13% of the aircraft of the Brazilian Armed Forces in 2022.

The aviation battalions are mixed, with reconnaissance and attack squadrons, with helicopters such as the HA-1 Esquilo (Eurocopter Ecureuil and Fennec), and general use, with maneuver helicopters such as the HM-1 Pantera (Eurocopter Panther). HA-1 Esquilo is also the standard model for training. These two models were the first to be purchased, but the HA-1 did not meet the army's ambitions for air-to-ground or air-to-air combat, and the HM-1 for transport capability. The army acquired new maneuver helicopters, the HM-2 Black Hawk (Sikorsky UH-60), HM-3 Cougar (Eurocopter Cougar) and HM-4 Jaguar (Eurocopter Caracal), respectively in 1997, 1999 and 2011. HA-1, HM-1 and HM-4 are assembled by Helibras. The Army Strategic Aviation Program, formalized by the Army General Staff (Estado-Maior do Exército, EME) in 2017, included AvEx in the army's project portfolio, with plans such as the acquisition of dedicated attack helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for logistics; however, the intention to acquire planes was prevented by pressure from the FAB in 2020. CIAvEx was chosen to train the army's remotely piloted aircraft system operators (SARP) and several were received in 2022.