page_title: Brazilian Air Force
section_title: Air units organization
hierarchical_section_title: Brazilian Air Force / Inventory / Air units organization
caption_attribution_description: English: Structure of the Brazilian en:Brazilian Air Force
context_page_description: The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces" in 1941. Both air branches transferred their equipment, installations and personnel to the new force.
  According to the Flight International and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Brazilian Air Force has an active strength of 80,937 military personnel and operates around 566 aircraft. The Brazilian Air Force is the largest air force in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest in the Americas after the United States Air Force.
context_section_description: At unit levels, "Groups" (Grupos) usually consist of one to sixteen consecutively numbered "Squadrons" (Esquadrões), each with varying numbers of aircraft, usually from six to 12. Smaller formations are known as "Flights" (Esquadrilhas). According to its tasks, a group has one of the following designations:
  Air Defense Group: Grupo de Defesa Aérea (GDA): Air defense fighters. (Fighter Jets)
  Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte (GT): Transport, Flight refueling
  Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação (GAv): Fighter, attack, reconnaissance, SAR, rotary wing
  Fighter Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação de Caça (GAvCa); Fighter, attack planes
  Troop Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte de Tropas (GTT): Transports, troop carrying, parachutist drop
  Special Flight Inspection Group: Grupo Especial de Inspeção em Vôo (GEIV): Calibration
  Special Test Flights Group: Grupo Especial de Ensaios de Vôo (GEEV): Test flights
  Special Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte Especial (GTE): VIP transport
  Common used designations for squadrons are:
  Air Transport Squadron: Esquadrão de Transporte Aéreo (ETA)
  Air Training Squadron: Esquadrão de Instrução Aérea (EIA)
  Demonstration flying team: Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea (EDA) (also called "Esquadrilha da Fumaça")
  The Air Bases of the Brazilian Air Force are:
caption: Operational structure of the Brazilian Air Force
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