Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force ( Portuguese : " Força Aérea Brasileira " , FAB ) 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 " . Both air branches transferred their equipment , installations and personnel to the new force . The FAB is the largest air force in Latin America , with about 700 manned aircraft in service , and 73 , 000 personnel on active duty . An additional 7 , 655 civilian personnel are employed . History . Creation . The establishment of the Royal Air Force in 1918 and the creation of the Italian Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) and the French Air Force during the 1920s drove the idea of uniting Brazilian air power under the same organization . Together with these events the Brazilian strategists were also influenced by the theories of Giulio Douhet , Billy Mitchell and Hugh Montague Trenchard . The first public manifest to create an integrated military air service came up in 1928 when an army Major called Lysias Rodrigues wrote an article called " An urgent need : The Ministry of the Air " ( " " Uma premente necessidade : o Ministério do Ar " " ) . Two years later the French Military Mission , working for the Brazilian Army , made the first steps to organize a national air arm . The idea got more support when a group of Brazilian airmen came from Italy in 1934 and explained the advantages of having a military aviation unified . Also , the Spanish Revolution and the first movements of World War II at the end of the thirties showed the importance of Air power for military strategies . 1º GAC P - 47 s carried the " Senta a Pua ! " emblem as nose art along with the national insignia of Brazil . One of the main supporters of the plan to create an independent air arm was the then - president Getúlio Vargas . He organized a study group early in 1940 and the whole structure of the Ministry of Aeronautics ( " Ministério da Aeronáutica " ) was established the end of that year . This new governmental agency was responsible for the all aspects of the civil and military aviation including infrastructure , regulation and organization . Formally , the Ministry of Aeronautics was founded on January 20 , 1941 and so its military branch called " National Air Forces " , changed to " Brazilian Air Force " ( " Força Aérea Brasileira " - " FAB " ) on May , 22 . The Army ( " " Aviação Militar " " ) and Navy ( " " Aviação Naval " " ) air branches were extinguished and all personnel , aircraft , installations and other related equipment were transferred to FAB . World War II . Equipped with American aircraft , mainly the P - 47 Thunderbolt , the FAB saw action on the Italian front . The work of the pilots and support personnel was recognized by a Presidential Unit Citation issued on April 26 , 1986 — one of only three non - US squadrons to receive such a citation . Brazilian Air force contribution in the World War II : Post World War II . After the war , the FAB began flying the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter . The jets were purchased from the British for 15 , 000 tons of crude cotton , as Brazil had no foreign currency reserves to spare . The jet was operated by the FAB until the mid - 1960s , when it was replaced by the F - 80C and TF - 33A , which were later replaced by the F - 5 and Mirage III jets . Cold War . During the Cold War , the Brazilian Republic was aligned with the United States and NATO . This meant that the F - 5 could be bought cheaply from the United States , who called this jet the " Freedom Fighter " . Many other countries , such as Mexico , also benefited from this policy . The Embraer ( Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica , " Brazilian Aeronautic Co . " ) has its origins as an enterprise directly managed and sponsored by the FAB . Working with Italian corporations , it developed the new AMX attack aircraft ( known locally as A - 1 ) which makes up the backbone of the FAB ' s attack force . The successful Tucano T - 27 trainer and the new light attack aircraft " A - 29 " , are also Embraer aircraft used extensively by the FAB . Present . In the early 2000s , with renewed economic stability , the FAB underwent an extensive renewal of its inventory through several acquisition programs , the most ambitious of which was the acquisition of 36 new front - line interceptor aircraft to replace its aging Mirage III . Known as F - X Project the program was postponed once again in 2005 . The competitors were the French Dassault Rafale , the Swedish SAAB - BAE Gripen , and the American F / A - 18 Super Hornet . On July 15 , 2005 one agreement was set with the French government for the transfer of twelve Dassault Mirage 2000s ( ten " C " and two " B " versions ) second - hand ex - Armée de L ' Air . Known as F - 2000s in Brazil , the first two aircraft arrived at Anápolis Air Base on September 4 , 2006 . On November 4 , 2007 the F - X Project underwent a small change . Now known as Project FX - 2 and with a bigger budget , the competitors for acquisition were the Eurofighter Typhoon , Sukhoi Su - 35 Super Flanker , Saab JAS - 39 Gripen , Dassault Rafale , Boeing F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet and , although information on Lockheed Martin ' s F - 35 Lightning II was requested , Lockheed Martin presented an F - 16 Fighting Falcon variant ( designated F - 16BR ) . In October 2008 , FAB released a shortlist of 3 aircraft : SAAB Gripen NG , Dassault Rafale and Boeing F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet . In February 2009 , the three companies provided their final bids . In September 2009 , following a surprise French visit to Brazil , Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy , from France , made a new military cooperation agreement . Lula , on an interview at TV5 Monde , said French Rafale is a step forward , since technology transfer would be effective . On September 7 , 2009 , Brazilian Independence Day , it was announced Brazil would negotiate 36 Dassault Rafale . But the Defence Minister did not confirmed if it is the final decision . On January 5 , 2010 , it was reported in the media that the final evaluation report by the Brazilian Air Force placed the SAAB Gripen NG ahead of the other contenders . The decisive factor was apparently the overall cost of the new fighters , both in terms of unit cost , and operating and maintenance costs . Rafale reported not even be second choice . Other programs , however , were successfully completed and included the following ( as of May 2007 ) : Command Structure . The Brazilian Air Force is the aerospace branch of the Brazilian armed forces and is managed by the " Aeronautics Command " ( " Comando da Aeronáutica " - COMAer ) . The COMAer was created in 1999 and replaced the Ministry of Aeronautics . Now , the COMAer is one of the three armed forces assigned to the Ministry of Defense ( " Ministério da Defesa " ) . The COMAer is led by the " Aeronautics Commander " ( " Comandante da Aeronáutica " ) . Unlike USAF , the Commander is a " " Tenente - Brigadeiro - do - Ar " " ( the most senior rank used in the Air Force , which is essentially the same as a USAF four - star general ) . He is nominated by the President and reports directly to the Minister of Defense . COMAer comprises six major components , four " General Commands " ( " Comandos - Gerais " ) and two " Departaments " ( " Departamentos " ) . The " General Command of Air Operations " ( " Comando - Geral de Operações " Aéreas - COMGAR ) , with headquarters in Brasilia , supervises most of the flying operations . As the main flying element , COMGAR administers several sub - formations in the form of four " Air Forces " ( Forças Aéreas ) and seven " Regional Air Commands " ( Comandos Aéreos Regionais - COMAR ) . Besides COMGAR , other major parallel organizations , which also report directly to the COMAer , are the " General Command of Support " ( " Comando - Geral de Apoio " - COMGAP ) , " General Command of Personnel " ( " Comando - Geral de Pessoal " - COMGEP ) , " General Command of Aerospatial Technology " ( " Comando - Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial " - CTA ) , " Aeronautics Departament of Teaching " ( " Departamento de Ensino da Aeronáutica " - DEPENS ) , " Departament of Civil Aviation " ( " Departamento de Aviação Civil " - DAC ) and " Departament of Airspace Control " ( " Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo " - DECEA ) . Air Units Organization . 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 : Common used designations for squadrons are : The air units are organized as follows : Other units are : The air force bases of the Brazilian Air Force are : FAB is responsible for the aerospace vigilance and defence on program " Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia " ( Amazon Surveillance System ) . Operations . A recent operation of the FAB was the bombing of illegal landing sites in the Amazon Forest , used by drug dealers to transport drugs into and out of Brazil ( see SIVAM ) . The operation also had support from the Brazilian Army and Brazilian Federal Police with many drug dealers being arrested as a result . The AMX Bomber / Fighter was the primary plane used . The FAB is currently working on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti ( MINUSTAH ) supporting the United Nations force ( a joint Brazilian , Uruguayan , Chilean and Argentine force ) deployed there . Also , the FAB is working on the Search & Rescue mission of Air France flight AF447 . The Brazilian Air Force has started a search and rescue from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha , highlighting eight planes to search a stretch bounded by the coastal cities of Recife , Natal and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha . SIVAM . The FAB is responsible to patrol the amazonia in the SIVAM ( " Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia " ) project Air Defence Systems . TheBrazilian Army also operates rotary - wing aircraft Brazilian Air Force Ranks . Here are the ranks of the FAB ( Brazilian Air Force ) :