List of active Brazilian military aircraft is a list of military aircraft currently in service with the Brazilian Armed Forces.
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft | ||||||
JAS 39 Gripen | Sweden Brazil | multirole | F-39E F-39F | 9 [a] | 27 on order [5] | |
Northrop F-5 | United States | fighter | F-5EM | 43 [6] | Planned to be phased out by 2029 [7] | |
AMX International | Brazil Italy | attack | A-1 A-1M A-1BM | 24 [6] | Planned to be phased out by 2025 [8] | |
Embraer EMB 314 | Brazil | COIN | A-29A A-29B | 68 [9] | ||
AEW&C | ||||||
Embraer E-99 | Brazil | AEW&C | E-99M | 5 [6] | ||
Reconnaissance | ||||||
Embraer R-99 | Brazil | SIGINT | R-99 | 3 [6] | ||
Embraer EMB 110 | Brazil | surveillance | RC-95 | 4 [6] | ||
Learjet 35 | United States | surveillance | RC-35 | 6 [6] | ||
Maritime patrol | ||||||
Embraer 110 | Brazil | maritime patrol | P-95A P-95BM | 18 [6] | ||
Lockheed P-3 | United States | maritime patrol | P-3AM | 3 [6] | ||
Transport | ||||||
Airbus A330-200 | Europe | VIP transport transport | KC-30 | 2 [b] | one for presidential flight – Brazilian Air Force One | |
Embraer C-390 | Brazil | transport aerial refueling | KC-390 | 7 [6] | 12 on order [12] | |
CASA C-295 | Spain | transport SAR | C-105 | 11 [c] | ||
Airbus A319 ACJ | Europe | VIP transport | VC-1A | 1 [d] | ||
Embraer 100 | Brazil | utility VIP transport | U-100 | 2 [13] | 2 on order [13] | |
Embraer 110 | Brazil | utility transport | C-95 | 52 [6] | ||
Embraer 120 | Brazil | utility VIP transport | C-97 | 19 [13] | ||
Embraer 190 | Brazil | VIP transport | VC-2 | 3 [6] | ||
Cessna 208 | United States | utility | C-98 | 30 [13] | ||
Embraer ERJ-145 | Brazil | VIP transport | VC-99 | 7 [6] | ||
Helicopter | ||||||
Eurocopter EC725 | France | transport VIP | H-36 VH-36 | 15 [e] | 2 on order – manufactured by Helibras | |
Eurocopter EC 135 | France | VIP | VH-35 | 2 [6] [14] | ||
Sikorsky UH-60 | United States | utility | H-60 | 16 [13] | 3 on order [13] | |
Trainer aircraft | ||||||
Embraer EMB 312 | Brazil | trainer | T-27 T-27M | 44 [6] | ||
Northrop F-5 | United States | jet trainer | F-5FM | 4 [6] | Planned to be phased out by 2029 [7] | |
Eurocopter AS 350 | France | rotorcraft trainer | H-50 | 20 [14] | 12 on order [13] | |
UAV | ||||||
Hermes 450 | Israel | reconnaissance | 4 [15] | |||
Hermes 900 | Israel | reconnaissance | 3 [16] [17] | 1 lost during the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods. Replacement bought in September 2024 [18] | ||
IAI Heron | Israel | reconnaissance | 2 [19] [20] |
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Helicopters | ||||||
Sikorsky UH-60 | United States | utility | HM-2 | 4 [13] | To be withdrawn, 12 UH-60M on order [13] | |
Eurocopter AS550 | France | liaison | HA-1A | 33 [13] | Assembled by Helibras | |
Eurocopter AS565 | France | utility | HM-1A | 33 [13] | Assembled by Helibras | |
Eurocopter AS532 | France | transport utility | HM-3 | 8 [13] | To be withdrawn, assembled by Helibras | |
Eurocopter EC725 | France | transport utility | HM-4 | 14 [13] | 1 on order - assembled by Helibras |
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft | ||||||
A-4 Skyhawk | United States | carrier based fighter | A-4KU | 5 [6] [21] | ||
Helicopters | ||||||
Sikorsky SH-60 | United States | ASuW ASW SAR | SH-16 | 6 [13] | ||
Westland Lynx | United Kingdom | ASuW ASW | Mk. 21 Mk. 21A | 5 [13] | 3 more to be upgrade on order | |
Airbus H135 | Germany | utility | UH-35 | 3 [13] | ||
Eurocopter EC725 | France | utility SAR ASuW | UH-15 UH-15A AH-15 | 12 [13] | 2 on order – assembled by Helibras | |
Eurocopter AS350 | France | utility | UH-12 UH-12A | 17 [13] | 15 H-125 (UH-18) on order [13] – assembled by Helibras | |
Trainer aircraft | ||||||
Bell 206 | United States | rotorcraft trainer | IH-6 | 10 [13] | To be replaced by H-125 (IH-18) | |
A-4 Skyhawk | United States | jet trainer | TA-4KU | 2 [6] [21] |
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. Later aircraft are fully NATO interoperable. As of 2020, more than 271 Gripens of all models, A–F, have been delivered.
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branches were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces" in 1941. Both air branches transferred their equipments, installations and personnel to the new force.
Brazilian Air Force One is the Brazilian Air Force call sign of the aircraft carrying the President of Brazil. On international flights the aircraft uses the Brazilian Air Force ICAO code BRS1 and callsign Brazilian Air Force 01. The Special Transport Group (GTE) is the unit of the Brazilian Air Force responsible for transporting the President, Vice-President and other senior government officials.
Santa Maria Air Force Base – ALA4 is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in Santa Maria, Brazil.
The Embraer C-390 Millennium is a medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. It is the heaviest aircraft the company has constructed to date.
The Brazilian Naval Aviation is the air component of the Brazilian Navy, currently called Força Aeronaval. Most of its air structure is subordinated to the Naval Air Force Command, the military organization responsible for providing operational air support from Navy vessels, while four squadrons are subordinated to the Naval Districts, responsible for inland and coastal waters. ComForAerNav is headquartered at the Naval Air Base of São Pedro da Aldeia, where all aircraft fleet level maintenance is carried out and where the Aeronaval Instruction and Training Center is located, which forms its staff. Its pilots, all officers with one to three years of prior naval experience, fly its helicopters, airplanes and Remotely Piloted Aircraft as extensions of the ships' weaponry and sensors.
Santa Cruz Air Force Base – ALA12 is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in the district of Santa Cruz in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Galeão Air Force Base – ALA11 is a base of the Brazilian Air Force located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after nearby Praia do Galeão, where in 1663 the galleon Padre Eterno was built.
Afonsos Air Force Base – BAAF is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in the district of Marechal Hermes, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 Kochav ("Star") is an Israeli medium-size, multi-payload, medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical missions. It is a successor to the Hermes 450 series of drones, one of the most widely used military drones in the world.
The Paraguayan Air Force is a branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's skies. Its interim commander is Air Division General Julio Rubén Fullaondo Céspedes. Its headquarters are located in Ñu Guazu, Luque, a city which belongs to Gran Asunción.
The Chief of the Joint General Staff of the Armed Forces is the professional head of the Brazilian Armed Forces, who is responsible for the centralizes the coordination and control of the three branches: Army, Navy and Air Force. The position was created through the Complementary Law No. 136 of 25 August 2010, and is guided by Ordinance No. 1429.
ANTEX-M is a family of small- and medium-sized experimental unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Portuguese Air Force in partnership with several universities and institutes. The development program is part of the PITVANT program and is funded by the Portuguese National Defense Ministry until 2015.
Anápolis Air Force Base – ALA2 is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in Anápolis, Brazil.
The 1st Fighter Aviation Group is the first fighter aviation group of the Brazilian Air Force, well known for having participated in the Second World War in the Italian Campaign and in the South Atlantic Campaign, it was created by the first Minister of Aeronautics and first Commander of the Brazilian Air Force, Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho and Major Nero Moura and aeronautical engineer and Major José Vicente Faria Lima. It is very well known in popular culture for its battle cry, Senta a Púa!
The Aerospace Operations Command is a joint command of the Brazilian Armed Forces in charge of planning, coordinating and conducting the employment of aerospace assets. Although part of the Brazilian Air Force's structure, it includes personnel from the Brazilian Army and Navy. COMAE is the central body in the Brazilian Aerospace Defense System and as such, it is directly responsible for the aerospace defense of Brazilian territory and may control Air Force, Army and Navy units.
The 1st Interceptor and Strike Fighter Squadron, known as "Falcon Squadron", is the Brazilian Naval Aviation unit created to fly McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighters on aircraft carriers of the Brazilian Navy (MB). The decommissioning of NAe São Paulo in 2017, after more than a decade inoperative, limits the squadron to taking off from land-based runways, especially its headquarters at the São Pedro da Aldeia Naval Air Base (BAeNSPA), Rio de Janeiro, where it is subordinate to the Naval Air Force Command. Its planes had the designations AF-1 (single-seater) and AF-1A (two-seater), later changed after modernization in 2015–2022 to AF-1B and AF-1C. The VF-1 operates the only fighters in Brazil outside the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). It was the last squadron in the world to fly the Skyhawk from aircraft carriers and, together with the Argentine Air Force, is the last military operator of that plane.
This list shows the present and future strategic re-equipment and modernization programs of the Brazilian Armed Forces that was based on the documents of the National Defense Strategy of 2008, and subsequent versions of the Defense White Paper that outline the major defense programs in Brazil from 2008 until 2040.
A two-seater version of Gripen NG is in development and will be used for both pilot training and combat missions. For the combat role, this version will be optimised to enable air battle management from the back seat, including jamming, information warfare and network attack capabilities. Weapon System Officer (WSO) and EW roles can also be facilitated from this position.