In all, more than 1,200 military personnel from the Armed Forces and around 30 aircraft are taking part in the training exercise
Air Force Agency, by Lieutenant Myrea Calazans
Low clouds and the company of the F-5M fighter jet, the E-99 radar plane and the H-36 Caracal aircraft. This was the setting for the first day of activities of Joint Exercise Shield-Tinia 2023 on Monday (30/10) at Canoas Air Base (BACO).
With air and ground activities also taking place at the Santa Maria Air Base (BASM) and in the city of Santana da Boa Vista (RS), until November 17, the operational training aims to train military personnel and aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for composite air missions, also known as COMAO (Composite Air Operation) in terms of guaranteeing sovereignty, territorial integrity and asset defense, in scenarios of regional or external conflicts in South America.
The Commander of the Fifth Regional Air Command (V COMAR), Major General Marcelo Fornasiari Rivero, highlighted the important aspects of the training. “This exercise is very important because it puts into practice everything we work on throughout the year, not just the air, but the entire infrastructure of the Canoas and Santa Maria air bases,” said the General.
In all, more than 1,200 military personnel from the Brazilian Navy (MB), the Brazilian Army (EB) and FAB units from all over the country are taking part in the exercise, as well as around 30 aircraft from the Fighter, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (IVR), Rotary Wing and Transport aviations, such as the F-5M, A-29 Super Tucano, A1-M, KC-390 Millennium, E-99, C-105 Amazonas, RQ-900 and H-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
The event is also an opportunity to maintain and develop capabilities for use in a fictitious and dynamic tactical scenario, simulating a regional conflict of conventional and regular warfare.
In this scenario, the training involves actions ranging from in-flight alert, aerial assault and attack, to in-flight refueling, aerospace reconnaissance, aerial resupply, anti-aircraft defense, scanning, collection and cyber defense.
This year’s edition, unlike previous ones, brings a significant strategic change that contributes to making EXCON Shield-Tinia 2023 even more complex and technological. “Exercise Escudo-Tínia 2023 brings components from the cyber and space areas that are being added to Air Force actions to maximize our operational capacity within the context that has been set for the Exercise this year,” concluded BACO Commander and Director of EXCON Escudo-Tínia 2023, Colonel Marcelo Zampier Bussmann.
Composite Air Mission
COMAO means the involvement of several aircraft and squadrons in a mission with several simultaneous actions. A COMAO package is a tightly coordinated group of aircraft bringing together various functionalities, acting in mutual support and ensuring air superiority.
Photos: Lieutenant Lima / BASM and Sergeant P. Silva / CECOMSAER *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI team ***