This Friday (20), the Brazilian women carried out for the first time a military exercise simulating combat situations with total integration of the communication of their three branches: Air Force, Army and Navy.
The training was led by the Air Force and is part of the final certification of the Link-BR2 system, a modern secure communication system that will equip the Brazilian fleet from March 2025, starting with the country’s new fighters,
The leap proposed in the exercise held in Rio Grande do Sul with the presence of the FAB commander, Brigadier Marcelo Damasceno, goes beyond that. The ability to integrate fighters, armored vehicles, ships and control centers with a single digital system was demonstrated, optimizing reaction time to threats.
Each Force has its own system, which until now was not discussed. In addition to Link-BR2 at the FAB, the Army operates the RDS Defense and Battlefield Generator, while the Navy has the MDLP (Multi Data Link Processor), which allows the exchange of messages between its own links such as Yb and Sterna.
Link-BR2 has been developed since 2020 by AEL, the Israeli Elbit, which also works for the Army. In 2022, it had received R$22 million (R$15 million remaining to be paid), and R$7 million is expected for this year.
Such integration is, in environments saturated with signal jammers and with an infinite number of vectors, such as drones —a laboratory for these technologies. These systems are known in self-explanatory military jargon as C4I, a reference to the English acronym for communication, command, control, computers and intelligence.
The US-led military alliance of 32 countries has a standardized system, Link-16. , the West’s main rival, has older variants, and the capacity of the modern version known as Osnod is uncertain.
The Link-16, resistant to various types of jammers, was adapted to that of Embraer’s Super Tucano light attack turboprop. The company’s KC-390 freighter,
These planes are expected to have the Link-BR2, which will initially be integrated into the Gripen fighter, whose first flight with the system is scheduled for the first half of next year, and
“Since the Ministry of Defense was created, 25 years ago, there has been a need for interoperability between the Forces, to carry out operations jointly. Today we have tangible solutions. We have passed a very important phase”, said Damasceno.
EXERCISE SIMULATED FOUR SCENARIOS
This Friday, four simulations were carried out. In the first, an H-225M helicopter made an attack to liberate a port blocked by enemies, destroying a ship detected by a FAB drone and the Mearim ship.
On Monday, two FAB F-5M fighters took off from Canoas to shoot down opponents, guided by Army ground radars.
The third simulation is a land operation with FAB support. of Embraer identifies an enemy helicopter. An Army armored vehicle reconnaissance the area and, using thermal binoculars, sees the rivals’ special forces disembarking. From there, the group is intercepted by Brazilian troops.
Finally, the radar plane identifies the takeoff and escape of an enemy helicopter. An A-29 Super Tucano
The exercise involved three F-5 fighters, a Marruá armored vehicle, and the oceanic support ship Mearim, near the coast of Rio Grande, and was coordinated by the command room at the Canoas Air Base. The other weapons were computer simulated, appearing as real on the control screens.
“In this exercise, we can see everyone operating together, in the same scenario”, says the president of AEL, Gal Lazar.
Some critics point to the fact that Brazilian military confidential communication is managed in partnership with a foreign company, but this is the current reality due to necessity. technological. For all the government’s rhetoric () and efforts to be independent with the Brics bloc, for example, the fact is that from a military point of view the
