Military training graduation took place on Friday (08/12)
Air Force Agency: 7th/8th GAV, by Lieutenant Marins
The Manaus Air Base (BAMN) was a pioneer in having the first female pilot to complete the 2023 Tactical Piloting Course (CPT 2023), taught by the Army Aviation Training Center (CIAVEx). The training is noteworthy for both the Brazilian Army (EB) and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), as Lieutenant Aviator Mariana de Bustamante Fontes, from the Seventh Fleet of the Eighth Aviation Group (7º/8º GAV) – Harpy Squadron, is the first female pilot on this operational course.
The class, which graduated on 08/12, included two pilots from the Brazilian Navy (MB), 16 pilots from the EB and two from the FAB: Lieutenant Aviator Matheus Albuquerque Brum de Souza, from the First Squadron of the Eleventh Aviation Group (1°/11° GAV) – Gavião Squadron and Lieutenant Aviator Mariana, from the Harpia Squadron.
For Lieutenant Mariana, this is another opportunity to specialize in rotary-wing aviation. “It’s a chance to add a lot to interoperability. It was something remarkable not just for me, but for both Forces, because the Army and Air Force need to fly in the wing,” she said.
The CPT aims to train pilots to carry out tactical flight progression, formation flight displacement, learn the fundamentals of air-to-air combat, learn and practice firing with the HA-1’s axial armament (rocket and machine gun), as well as learning about and participating in the planning and execution of an airmobile operation.
Throughout the course, which lasted 11 weeks, theoretical and practical instruction was given in Tactical Piloting, Helicopter Fraction Maneuverability, Mountain Flying, among others. All the training is carried out in the Fennec Avex AS550 aircraft in different environments.
Instruction continues in 2024 with the Combat Pilot Course, considered an extension of the first, aimed at enabling the pilot to command helicopter Sections, Platoons and Squadrons, in the fulfillment of combat, combat support and logistics missions within the scope of Army Aviation.
The Commander of CIAVEx, Artillery Colonel Luiz Marcelo Chan Fock de Oliveira, commented on the training of new specialized pilots. “The successful completion of pilots from the Brazilian Air Force and Navy proves that we are on the right track and everyone will be able to defend the homeland together, should the need arise,” he said.
Photo: Lieutenant Mariana / 7th/8th GAV; Brazilian Army *** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***