Brazilian Air Force, Embraer launch study for surveillance fleet

SANTIAGO, Chile — Brazil’s Air Force and Embraer are beginning a joint study to look into adapting aircraft already in service to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the local firm announced April 10.

The head of the Air Force, Gen. Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, and the chief executive of Embraer Defense and Security, João Bosco Costa Jr., attended the company’s announcement during the FIDAE air show, which runs April 9-14 in Santiago, Chile.

During the presentation, a backdrop showed a C-390 Millennium transport aircraft , a type in service with Brazil, labelled as a maritime patrol aircraft and carrying anti-ship missiles.

The Air Force has started looking for options to replace its P-3AM Orion maritime patrol aircraft beginning in 2031, a military source in the capital of Brasilia told Defense News.

Already, companies appear keen to win a potential contract. Apart from Embraer’s announcement, the American firm Boeing put out a news release just ahead of the air show that emphasized its history in supplying the region with defense platforms.

At the show itself, Tim Flood, Boeing’s senior regional director for international business development in Europe and the Americas, specifically pointed to Brazil as the first potential customer in the region for the P-8, according to an article from Janes .

French defense firm Airbus also attended the show, promoting its C-295 twin turboprop maritime patrol aircraft. The Air Force already operates 10 of them in a maritime search and rescue role.

“A decision is set to be made by 2026,” the military source told Defense News, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. “If the idea of developing a C-390 MPA is favored, there will be no tender, and a contract will be awarded to Embraer soon instead.”

“If not, a tender for bids will run between 2026 and 2027. The target will be to acquire a minimum of six aircraft, spread in two batches, with [the cost] under current estimations — if P-8 or an equivalent is selected and ordered — amounting to $3 billion,” the source added. “Deliveries of the new MPAs would start in 2031, to be completed in 2036.″

The exploration and refinement of substantial reserves of oil and natural gas in Brazil’s littoral areas in the late 1990s drove the country to bolster its maritime surveillance capability, with the Navy and Air Force both playing critical roles.

However, the Air Force’s maritime patrol fleet at the time — the small, twin-engine turboprop Embraer P-95 Bandeirante, a version of the Embraer C-95 Bandeirante fitted with a nose-mounted AN/APS-128 radar — lacked the necessary range and endurance, among other capacities.

In the early 2000s, Brazil purchased 12 former U.S. Navy P-3A maritime patrol aircraft. The transaction was followed by a contract award to the Spanish company CASA, a subsidiary of Airbus, to refurbish and upgrade the aircraft. The plan was to modernize eight of them to more closely match the P-3C, with the remaining set of four used as a source of spare parts. They would be known as P-3AM aircraft.

The work led to an increased range and a 16-hour endurance, as well as the fitting of a new mission system built around the Airbus-made Fully Integrated Tactical System. The aircraft also received electro-optical, acoustic and magnetic anomalies sensors. They were also integrated with Boeing’s AGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles.

The P-3AM began entering service in 2011, with the last one delivered in 2014.

But according to the military source, the P-3AM fleet’s maintenance costs have increased substantially in recent years. To keep the P-3AM fleet operating would require “a substantial investment,” the source added, plus they would need upgraded mission systems, driving the cost higher.

Noting “older platforms also have limitations for capability growth,” the source said Brazil decided “to procure a new aircraft with a larger life service span, and also with a wider margin to grow capacities in order to meet future requirements.” This approach, the source added, would be more cost-effective.

“Options are being explored, and the idea to develop an MPA version of C-390 is popular, but it is yet to be seen if it is technically and financially feasible. To bring other nations and firms onboard, as customers and industrial partners, may be necessary,” the military source said.

José Higuera is a Latin America correspondent for Defense News.

智利圣地亚哥——巴西航空工业公司于4月10日宣布，巴西空军和该公司将开始一项联合研究，探讨如何改装已投入使用的飞机，以执行情报、监视和侦察任务。

空军司令马塞洛·卡尼茨·达马塞诺将军和巴西航空工业公司防务与安全首席执行官若昂·博斯科·科斯塔出席了该公司在4月9日至14日于智利圣地亚哥举行的FIDAE航展上的发布会。

在演示过程中，背景上展示了一架 C-390 千禧运输机，这是巴西现役的一种机型，被标记为海上巡逻机，并携带反舰导弹。

巴西首都巴西利亚的一位军方消息人士告诉《防务新闻》，美国空军已开始寻找从 2031 年开始替换其 P-3AM“猎户座”海上巡逻机的方案。

各公司似乎都渴望赢得潜在的合同。除了巴西航空工业公司（Embraer）的声明外，美国波音公司也在航展前夕发布新闻稿，强调了其为该地区提供国防平台的历史。

据简氏防务周刊的一篇文章报道，在展会上，波音公司负责欧洲和美洲国际业务发展的高级区域总监蒂姆·弗拉德特别指出，巴西是该地区 P-8 的第一个潜在客户。

法国国防公司空中客车也参加了此次航展，重点推介其C-295双涡轮螺旋桨海上巡逻机。美国空军目前已装备10架该型飞机，用于海上搜救任务。

一位因话题敏感而要求匿名的军方消息人士告诉《防务新闻》：“预计将在2026年做出决定。如果开发C-390海上巡逻机的方案获得通过，就不会进行招标，而是很快会将合同授予巴西航空工业公司。”

“否则，将在2026年至2027年间进行招标。目标是分两批采购至少六架飞机，根据目前的估算——如果选择并订购P-8或同等机型——总成本将达到30亿美元，”消息人士补充道。“新海上巡逻机的交付将于2031年开始，并于2036年完成。”

20 世纪 90 年代末，巴西沿海地区勘探和提炼了大量石油和天然气储量，这促使该国加强了海上监视能力，海军和空军都发挥了关键作用。

然而，当时空军的海上巡逻机队——小型双引擎涡轮螺旋桨飞机 Embraer P-95 Bandeirante（Embraer C-95 Bandeirante 的一个版本，配备了机头安装的 AN/APS-128 雷达）——缺乏必要的航程和续航能力，以及其他能力。

21世纪初，巴西购买了12架美国海军退役的P-3A海上巡逻机。随后，巴西与空客旗下的西班牙公司CASA签订合同，负责对这些飞机进行翻新和升级。计划是将其中8架现代化改造，使其更接近P-3C的性能，其余4架则用作备件来源。这4架飞机将被命名为P-3AM。

这项工作使飞机的航程和续航时间都得到了提升，达到了16小时，同时还为其配备了基于空客公司全集成战术系统（FITS）的新型任务系统。此外，该飞机还加装了光电、声学和磁异常传感器，并集成了波音公司的AGM-84L“鱼叉”Block II型反舰导弹。

P-3AM于2011年开始服役，最后一架于2014年交付。

但据军方消息人士透露，P-3AM机队的维护成本近年来大幅上涨。该消息人士补充说，要维持P-3AM机队的正常运转，需要“大量投资”，而且还需要升级任务系统，这将进一步推高成本。

消息人士指出，“老旧平台的能力提升也存在局限性”，因此巴西决定“采购一款使用寿命更长、且具备更大升级空间的新型飞机，以满足未来的需求”。该消息人士补充说，这种做法更具成本效益。

“目前正在探索各种方案，开发C-390海上巡逻机版本的想法很受欢迎，但其技术和经济可行性还有待观察。或许有必要争取其他国家和公司作为客户和工业合作伙伴加入，”这位军方消息人士表示。

何塞·伊格拉是《防务新闻》拉丁美洲记者。