The Brazilian Air Force’s five Embraer R-99A (AEW&C) and three R-99B (Remote Sensing) aircraft accumulated 8,333 flight hours and achieved 98.31% reliability since service entry in July 2002. The ERJ-145 based aircraft are the airborne backbone for the protection of the 5.2 million square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon, guaranteeing its sustained development under the SIVAM (SIstema de Vigilancia de AMazonia) program.
As well as protecting an area the size of western Europe from illegal logging, cattle ranching and mining, a major part of surveillance is to reduce drug production and cross-border trafficking. SIVAM also monitors forest fires and produces data to resolve indigenous land conflicts. Some of Brazil’s rivers are so wide they generate a wave motion, so the sea surveillance capability of the aircraft’s radars come into use, say officials. The infrared sensors aboard the R-99Bs are particularly good at finding illegal mining operations via different colored (false colors on display) deposits in rivers, illegal deforestation. By checking color and contrast differences in the forest canopy, drug laboratories and illegal runways have been discovered.
In 2003 there were 4,600 ‘unreported’ aircraft movements recorded, but this figure has dropped by 80% since the SIVAM program started, probably related to the Brazilian Air Force’s recently-granted right to fire on illegals if they ignore orders to land. Of the remaining 20% movements, many are believed to be flying farmers visiting friends without telling the authorities of their planned flights.
The strike element and teeth of the SIVAM team is Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano, known locally as the ‘Flying HUMVE’ as it often operates from forward and unpaved runways.
The air element, however, is just one very important part of SIVAM. The ground segment has three surveillance centers, each responsible for an area of 1.5 million square kilometer; 19 fixed and three transportable ground radars; 70 weather stations; several satellite ground stations; and about 200 data collection platforms, including weather and pollution monitoring. Information also comes from satellites, and is passed on to 900 interested parties across the country, including all branches of the military, air traffic control departments, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and many others who share and coordinate the information. —Mike Vines
