The failure recorded in the activation of the engines of the aircraft that would take the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) from Belém (PA) to Marajó Island (PA) is a reflection of the successive cuts in the budget Of the Armed Forces, according to sources of the high military summit heard by the report.
O (Brazilian Air Force), before takeoff in Belém.
There was a technical problem during the aircraft’s engines, Amazonas C105 (Airbus manufacturing) model. This is not a presidential aircraft.
The plane is frequently used to transport troops and loads, as well as the displacement of the president when it is necessary to land in short clues.
Military claim that the episode is not a punctual or exclusive case of the Lula administration, but a result of a decade of budget shortage.
According to them, successive cuts make it difficult not only to modernize equipment, but also, in some cases, they compromise the maintenance of defense products.
In the case of FAB, for example, the amount intended for discretionary expenses – aimed at maintenance and modernization of the fleet – has suffered a 41% reduction in the last 10 years, in real values (already corrected by inflation).
Air Force data also show that the Brazilian aircraft fleet fell from 526 in 2014 to 319 in 2025.
Budget lattice also impacted the flight hours of the Air Force, considered essential for the practical training of pilots. In the last 10 years, the number of FAB flight hours has been reduced by about 50%.
“Since we did not have an investment compatible with the needs of activities, whether the acquisition of supply or maintenance, we had to reducing the number of aircraft that we can operate,” reported Lieutenant Brigadier Walcyr Josué de Castilho Araújo, in a public hearing in the Senate in early September.
With the flight load below considered appropriate, the Armed Forces have faced the dropout of pilots, who leave the public service to seek better working conditions in the private sector.
Budget reduction also affects FAB infrastructure, including tracks and hangars.
In order to reduce the precariousness, the military and the Minister of Defense, José Múcio, have defended the PEC (Constitutional Amendment Proposal) of the predictability of defense.
The so -called “predictability PEC” establishes the application of 2% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the defense area.
The proposal, however, has been stopped in the Senate since 2023. Designated in April, the rapporteur at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) is Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), leader of the Government in Congress.
PEC under analysis in the Senate follows the parameters recommended by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which guides the member countries to allocate this minimum percentage to the area.
