Cruzex 2013 - Natal (Brazil)

[Arnold ten Pas]

Hi,

From 6 to 13 November we visited Natal and Recife for Cruzex 2013. A very interesting exercise, both in aircraft types as countries. A small first selection, more to follow!

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.

[Olli J.]

Wooow! Great stuff but No6 & 9 are my favs . Keep on showing Arnold...

[alpha kilo 61]

Wow the last picture of the f16 is excellent, what a beauty

[Erik_7Xi]

Awesome!! That "Bolivar" Viper is mouth watering!

Good to see those Uruguayan Air Force Dragonflies back in the air again - when we were there in 2007, they were all grounded due to spares shortage.
During our stay there, one aircraft was finally made airworthy again but immediately broke down during its first test flight. At that stage, the aircraft were having a very bleak future.
(Which makes me wonder if the FAU could maintain the ex-Chilean F-5E Tiger IIIs if they purchase them as they are a lot more complex to maintain and more expensive to operate than the old A-37!).

[Hans Rolink]

Good shots Arnold! I take it the Bandeirante was shot at Recife?

Hans.

[Wildpicture]

Very nice pictures! I just love that these aircraft have real camouflage painted on them, instead of the boring grey.

[PilotoRico]

Good to see those Uruguayan Air Force Dragonflies back in the air again - when we were there in 2007, they were all grounded due to spares shortage.
During our stay there, one aircraft was finally made airworthy again but immediately broke down during its first test flight. At that stage, the aircraft were having a very bleak future.
(Which makes me wonder if the FAU could maintain the ex-Chilean F-5E Tiger IIIs if they purchase them as they are a lot more complex to maintain and more expensive to operate than the old A-37!).

Hm... that's very strange, in 2007 there was a exercise with Argentine AF KC-130H called "La Plata I" in which three A-37's were used to train FAU pilots with air-to-air refuelling! If 'all' Dragonfly's were grounded I wonder what A-37s were used
Besides that, the FAU mechanics are better then you think.... actually they maintain there Pucará fleet much better then the Argentines, who have a much larger fleet but can barelly get eight in the air!!! So why should Uruguay not be able to keep Tigers in the air?
FAU is a small country with a very tight budget, but they maintain a very high level of operational status

Saludos

[Arnold ten Pas]

I take it the Bandeirante was shot at Recife?

Nope, at Natal. It came in early morning on Thursday the 7th.

[Hans Rolink]

I take it the Bandeirante was shot at Recife?

Nope, at Natal. It came in early morning on Thursday the 7th.

OK... I didn't recognise the buildings in the background. How did you fare at Recife BTW?

Hans.

[CBR]

Also did not recognize it at first. Probably RWY16R which was used by the most of the transports, Super Tucanos, A-37s and Pucaras.

Love the Mirage. Surely the last time we saw them since they will be wfu in December ...

[Erik_7Xi]

Hm... that's very strange, in 2007 there was a exercise with Argentine AF KC-130H called "La Plata I" in which three A-37's were used to train FAU pilots with air-to-air refuelling! If 'all' Dragonfly's were grounded I wonder what A-37s were used

Besides that, the FAU mechanics are better then you think.... actually they maintain there Pucará fleet much better then the Argentines, who have a much larger fleet but can barelly get eight in the air!!! So why should Uruguay not be able to keep Tigers in the air?
FAU is a small country with a very tight budget, but they maintain a very high level of operational status

No idea but in April 2007, 273 was the ONLY flying A-37 they had, after they finally received the parts for it, and it broke down during the test flight - and where did I say that they would not have the skills to maintain their jets? The problem isn't skills, it's the age of the equipment, the availability of the spare parts and funding.

When I was at Durazno, the CO of 2 Squadron (Escuadrón Aéreo N° 2 (Caza)) told us that the problem was getting parts for these jets as many parts are no longer produced for the A-37s and having to rely on used parts can cause reliability issues. We were also told that funding was very tight, preventing the FAU from getting these jets completely overhauled. Uruguay was subsequently struck by the worst floods in over 50 years which would not have done the budget situation any good.

Maintaining a fleet of A-37s is a very different kettle of fish than keeping a squadron of high performance, highly modernized fighters in the air, with all the kit and weapons that comes with it.

Not only is the F-5E a highly maneuverable fighter jet, the ex-FACh Tiger IIIs have been fully modernized with BVR capable Elta radar, fire control systems and weapon systems. To just maintain the radar and fire control systems, Durazno will have to get upgraded maintenance facilities and workshops, with great investments in re-training the specialized mechanics. As Brazil is not using the same systems on their F-5M, the FAU would have to front these costs alone. The same goes for the radar guided Derby (Python) and IR guided Python IV missiles - the FAU will have to setup a separate weapons shop for those as well. Putting some MK82s together is again a whole different affair than maintaining the complex motors and seeker heads of these missiles.

And then 2 Squadron, provided that the FAU will replace the A-37s with the F-5s rather than (re)establishing Escuadrón Aéreo N° 4, will not only have to be re-trained in a much broader spectrum of aerial warfare, the FAU will also have to ensure that these skills are being maintained. Which could mean a higher sortie level (putting more pressure on the maintenance support), more frequent participation in exercises, etc.

It doesn't come down to skill at all - I have never said that the FAU would not have these skills and if I never believed they were highly skilled, I would not have flown multiple sorties with the FAU while I was in Uruguay. But it does comes down to budget and the appetite for the Uruguayan government to increase military spend. Buying these used F-5s is one thing, actually turning them into reliable front-line defense assets is something completely different. But if the FAU gets the proper funding, then I have no doubt that they can succeed.

[Hans Rolink]

Indeed Erik, much overlooked factors that go along with purchasing and exploiting modern fighters. Perhaps we will see a future buy of Super Tucanos by the Uruguayans, just like Equador did. Performance-wise, that woud not be much of a step down. Support requirement wise, it would be something they can handle without having to invest in more advanced technologies the F-5E Tiger III would require.

Hans.

[PilotoRico]

Indeed Erik, much overlooked factors that go along with purchasing and exploiting modern fighters. Perhaps we will see a future buy of Super Tucanos by the Uruguayans, just like Equador did.

Hans.

If you follow the Uruguay air force future debate, then you know that the Super Tucano is out of the question, simply because the FAU Command want's to have a jet aircraft as A-37 replacement....

Cheers

[Arnold ten Pas]

Hi,

OK... I didn't recognise the buildings in the background. How did you fare at Recife BTW?

We catched all tankers coming back from the morning mission (USAF KC-135, Colombian B767, Chilean KC-135, Brazilian Hercs). Further, we looked for (and found) some W&R:

1. Early rise fro the drive to Recife


2. Chilean KC-135


3. The Colombian Connection:


4. E-99:

[Marco]

and do forget Arnold, KC-130M 2462 returned with an IFE and dropped its probe and basket in the grass right next to the runway