Officials visited the exercise facilities at the Canoas and Santa Maria air bases and in the cities of Santana da Boa Vista and Caçapava do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul.
Agência Força Aérea, por Tenente Myrea Calazans
During the sixth edition of the Escudo-Tínia Joint Exercise (EXCON), which is taking place at the Canoas and Santa Maria Air Bases, as well as in the cities of Santana da Boa Vista and Caçapava do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), a delegation from the Air Force High Command paid an operational visit on November 6th.
The Aerospace Operations Commander (COMAE), General Hudson Costa Potiguara; the Preparedness Commander (COMPREP), General Sergio Roberto de Almeida; the General Support Commander (COMGAP), General Pedro Luís Farcic; General Director of the Airspace Control Department (DECEA), Air Brigadier Alcides Teixeira Barbacovi; accompanied by other General Officers and Officers from the Brazilian Navy (MB), the Brazilian Army (EB) and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), were on site to see the operational activities of the training.
Upon arriving at Canoas Air Base (BACO), the authorities were welcomed by the Commander of the Fifth Regional Air Command (V COMAR), Major General Marcelo Fornasiari Rivero, and by the Commander of BACO and Director of the Exercise, Colonel Marcelo Zampier Bussmann. On that occasion, everyone watched as eight F-5M aircraft took off on yet another Composite Air Operations (COMAO) mission.
Soon after, during a presentation given by Colonel Bussmann, at the Second Fleet of the First Communications and Control Group (2º/1º GCC), the delegation was able to learn about the concepts, objectives and actions carried out in EXCON, which seeks to consolidate the doctrine of COMAO, as well as the technical training of Anti-Aircraft Defense Units of the MB, EB and FAB, thus promoting interoperability between the Armed Forces and action in multidomains: air, land, sea, space and cyber, within a regular simulated war.
The Commander of COMAE, General Hudson Costa Potiguara, highlighted the importance of EXCON Tínia in the context of other major exercises carried out annually by the FAB, such as Tápio and COMAEX.
“Each exercise has its own peculiarities, but they all have one thing in common, which is to improve our Brazilian Air Force, our joint operations and our entire doctrine. So, specifically, in the Escudo-Tínia exercise, we have “Escudo”, on the part of COMAE, which aims to train Command and Control, as well as involving Anti-Aircraft Artillery, and “Tínia”, on the part of COMPREP, which focuses on maintaining and developing tactics, techniques and procedures. As a complement, we also have the participation of the artilleries of the Brazilian Navy, the Brazilian Army and the FAB. This is very good, because it generates understanding, improvement and training of all kinds,” said the General Officer.
On site, the delegation was also able to follow all the activities carried out in the structures assigned to the Exercise Directorate (DIREX), which includes the Current Operations Division (DIVOC), the Airspace Control Department (DECEA) and the showtime cell, which monitors the air combat in real time. They also visited two other stations, one where offensive operations are coordinated and the other belonging to the Military Air Operations Control Body (OCOAM), built to include the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Liaison Teams (ELAAe).
The delegation was then received by the Commander of the Santa Maria Air Base (BASM), Colonel Luciano Antonio Marchiorato Dobignies, to follow the actions carried out by the Anti-Aircraft Defense Units of the Armed Forces in the cities of Santana da Boa Vista and Caçapava do Sul, both in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul.
The authorities traveled to the regions using two H-60L Black Hawk helicopters, operated by the Fifth Fleet of the Eighth Aviation Group (5º/8º GAV – Pantera Squadron).
“The exercise represents the end of operational training for all our combat teams, putting into practice everything we’ve learned during the year and having the chance to work together with the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Army, including their Anti-Aircraft Artillery Units. It’s a training exercise that has successfully crowned all of our 2023 training,” concluded COMPREP Commander, Air Brigadier Sergio Roberto de Almeida.
The air and ground activities of Joint Exercise Shield-Tinia 2023 will take place until November 17, with the aim of aligning the training and capacity building of the military to face the challenges of using military power in times of crisis in complex military operations.
PHOTOS: Lieutenant Ramalho/BACO and Sergeants P. Silva and Lucas/CECOMSAER
VIDEO: Sergeant Lucas / CECOMSAER – *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***