The Brazilian Air Force has lost at least 40% of its AMX fighters

The Brazilian Air Force has lost at least 40% of its AMX fighters

The A-1 attack aircraft, developed by Embraer and its Italian partners, had 56 delivered to the FAB, but at least 21 were decommissioned for various reasons.

The most advanced fighter aircraft ever developed in Brazil, the A-1 attack and reconnaissance aircraft has seen its fleet in the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) shrink significantly during its nearly three decades of operation.

A joint project between Embraer and Italian manufacturers Aeritalia and Aermacchi (now absorbed by the Leonardo group), AMX, as the program is called, represents a huge technological advantage for the country by allowing Brazilian teams to gain experience with more complex aircraft systems, as command via fly. -by-wire .

The AMX appeared in the late 1970s and spent the 1980s in development until the first examples were delivered to the FAB in 1989 - Italy, another jet customer, received its first fighter aircraft at the same time.

The Air Force originally intended to acquire 79 A-1 attack jets, as christened, but ended up receiving 56 units, 11 of them in the two-seat version.

Deliveries lasted until 1999 and the A-1s equipped three squadrons in the Air Force. However, delays in producing the aircraft meant there were some equipment differences between them.

For this reason, the FAB launched the A-1 upgrade program in the early 2000s, which provided standardization of the aircraft with more modern and capable equipment.

Among them are the replacement of the radar by the national model SCP-01, changes to the cockpit panel with a multifunction display, the adoption of the HOTAS (Hands on the throttle and stick) and Eye Level Display (HUD) concepts, in addition to a self-defense system with "husk" and "chaff" dispensers. beacons" and the ability to launch laser-guided smart bombs.

However, the first modern AMX, the A-1M, was not delivered to the Air Force until 2012 and eight years later only eleven aircraft were upgraded.

40% of the original fleet is downloaded.
Meanwhile, however, the FAB lost several fighters, five of them in accidents. An Airway survey also identified the 13 planes dismantled and auctioned off as second-hand in addition to the two A-1s stationed at the monument.