By Francisco Garonce | December 26, 2016
Brazil bought 12 Russian heavy assault
gunship helicopters that are dramatically changing its operations, surveillance
and air space control methods over the Amazonia. AH-2 Sabre is the military
designation used by the Brazilian Air Force of the Mi-35M that is equipped with
Israeli-developed avionics to better attend Brazilian requirements to operate
in a forest region with high temperatures, high humidity, cargo deployment
needs and that must fly in continuous night missions. They are in service with
the Poti Squadron.
The Poti Squadron is the second squadron in
the eighth aviation group of the Brazilian Air Force. This group was created in
1980 and is located at the Recife Air Force Base, operating the Eurocopter
Ecureuil, designated as H-50 Squirrel. The squadron trained many military
helicopters pilots in missions such as combat, attack, troop infiltration and
exfiltration, search and rescue, and other missions of combat support
operational task. After almost 30 years operating in the Northeast of the country,
the squadron retired its H-50 Squirrel, received the AH-2 Sabre and moved to
the opposite side of Brazil. Nowadays Poti is based at Porto Velho Air Force
Base in the western Amazonia region, near Bolivia’s northern border.
When Brazil incorporated AH-2 Sabre in its
military fleet, it became one of the few Latin Americans countries to employ
the service of a dedicated armed helicopter with the primary attack role with
the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy armored
fighting vehicles and infantry troops. Mexican and Venezuelan Armies have
similar Mi-35Ms though with standard avionics. There is no official information
published by the Brazilian government regarding the total amount spent in this
defense contract, but it is estimated that each unit has cost around $15
million to the country.
Onboard systems of the Mi-35M Brazilian
version that upgraded the original platform to perform all specific
requirements includes reduced weight components and new avionics as digital
glass cockpit for each crew member, radar warning receiver, laser rangefinder
and the OPS-24N night-vision system with thermal imaging. There is also an
integrated infrared suppression system at the engine exhaust vents, a cockpit
armoring for crew and most important systems protection, an ultra-modernized
weapons system, an infrared jamming system and a chaff-flare dispenser.
The flexibility of the AH-2 allows it to be
used as cargo for ferry with load capability of 1.5 tons in the cabin that is
set under the engines and main rotor. This cabin space can also be used to
carry up to eight fully-equipped combat troops. There is a sling system that
takes an extra 2.4 tons externally, which is extremely important to increase
cargo deployment capability in the Amazonia region. Beyond these roles, it can
serve in MEDEVAC roles, which allows the helicopter to be used with a social
purpose to support Amazonian communities.
The Social Communication Center of the
Brazilian Air Force, CECOMSAER, released last month that for the first time
since the AH-2 went into operation in Brazil it was launched with maximum
military capacity for training. In the Zarabatana VII Operational Exercise, two
helicopters launched simultaneously two 9M120 Ataka missiles, and 40 S-8 80-mm
unguided rockets were launched at the same time from each aircraft.
“For the first time we explored full
employment capacity of the AH-2 Sabre. We followed all operational safety
procedures, technical manuals of the helicopter and Brazilian Air Force
doctrine,” said Lt. Col. Pedro Henrique Cavalcanti de Almeida, commander of the
Poti Squadron.
The AH-2 is operating in conjunction with
other aircraft in the Brazilian military fleet, including S-70 Pave Hawks and
fixed-wing platforms such as EMB-314, Embraer Super Tucano and EMB-145
AEW&C – Airborne Early Warning and Control, P-99 and R-99. All these
aircraft-coordinated operations are changing the course of the National Defense
Policy in the Brazilian Amazonia. Long border lines with Venezuela, Suriname,
Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia are now under strong control.
As the region is a prime location for international terrorists and drug
traffickers, the Armed Forces Operations has been implemented in coordination
with the Federal Police Dept. actions that are resulting in relevant decrease
of suspect not controlled flights as the actions of criminals in this part of
the country. The use of AH-2 Sabre has been determinative for these
achievements.
Original post: rotorandwing.com
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