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NAeL São Paulo
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NAe São Paulo (A12) is a Clemenceau class aircraft carrier of the Brazilian Navy, formerly the French Foch. It was built in 1957 and was purchased from France in 2000.
Background
São Paulo is the flagship of the Brazilian Navy. It replaced the World War II-era carrier Minas Gerais, which was in commission for over 40 years. The São Paulo is newer, bigger, faster and has greater operational capacity than its predecessor.
Out of the nine countries (Brazil, France, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) that currently have aircraft carriers or amphibious assault vessels equipped with flight decks, only four (Brazil, France, USA, and Russia) have embarked aircraft of conventional type (CTOL), while the other five operate STOL/VTOL aircraft only.
The old French Foch was bought to replace the aged Minas Gerais at a bargain price of $12 million USD in 2000, no aircraft included.
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Encyclopedia
NAe São Paulo (A12) is a Clemenceau class aircraft carrier of the Brazilian Navy, formerly the French Foch. It was built in 1957 and was purchased from France in 2000.
Background
São Paulo is the flagship of the Brazilian Navy. It replaced the World War II-era carrier Minas Gerais, which was in commission for over 40 years. The São Paulo is newer, bigger, faster and has greater operational capacity than its predecessor.
Out of the nine countries (Brazil, France, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) that currently have aircraft carriers or amphibious assault vessels equipped with flight decks, only four (Brazil, France, USA, and Russia) have embarked aircraft of conventional type (CTOL), while the other five operate STOL/VTOL aircraft only.
The old French Foch was bought to replace the aged Minas Gerais at a bargain price of $12 million USD in 2000, no aircraft included. The government had already purchased a flotilla of used A-4 Skyhawk fighters from Kuwait for US$70 million. The A-4s have rockets, free fall bombs and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles as armament, but the São Paulo currently serves mainly to train pilots to fly carrier operations.
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso noted during the transfer ceremony that "The transference of the Ship-Aerodrome São Paulo to the Operative Sector of the Navy adds to our naval power an important magnification in its ability of defense of the Brazilian interests at sea. A country as ours, possessing an extensive coast, with more than 7 thousand kilometers of coast, requires a naval power compatible with its stature in the international scene. Today, as before, Brazil is concerned about implementing concrete measures that offer the nation the guarantee of respect to its sovereignty. We are and we will always be a nation that fights for the peace, however, that does not mean being able to do without modern Armed Forces, enabled and endowed with adequate dissuasive potential. Few countries, even today, have the capacity to operate with efficiency in the high seas. It is important that Brazil continues to be one of them."
Since its construction, the ship has received multiple upgrades over the years, leaving it with a diverse range of technologies. In its current form, it is expected to remain effective in its role for the foreseeable future, though further modernization efforts are expected as it is converted into a combat ready vessel. Twenty-three A-4 Skyhawk have been acquired (designated AF-1) to compose the fighter-bomber group of São Paulo, together with the existing helicopters already in the national defense inventory.
Brazilian service
The aircraft carrier São Paulo was constructed in France from 1957 to 1960. It served the French Navy as Foch. Its purchase by the Brazilian government in September 2000 while still operational was an unknown process for a ship of this caliber, and it was received by the Brazilian Navy in only two months and fifteen days and incorporated on 15 November 2000. The incorporation of São Paulo and the AF-1 to the Navy of Brazil realized a long-held goal of being able to carry through the aerial defense of the naval forces with fixed wing aircraft.
In the first three years of service as São Paulo, the ship completed several missions, some in foreign waters (particularly Operations ARAEX and TEMPEREX, which is annually used to qualify and train Super Etendards and S-2T Turbo Trackers of the Argentine Navy) and is currently working to remain operational while the military faces budget cuts.
Since 2000, chronic lack of funding has hampered the ship's ability to function normally. In October 2008, the São Paulo was unable to participate in training exercises, with only one of the 12 A-4 Skyhawks is ready for duty. Funding issues had prevented the 11 other A-4s from having their engines upgraded by Embraer.
According to articles in Airforces Monthly January and February, there have been reports of confirmed new aircraft upgrade programs. A new upgrade of the A-4s has been proposed. The upgrade will include all 23 aircraft to similar standard as the Brazilian Air Force F-5EM's. Embraer is having reservations about this upgrade due to the compact size of the aircaft's nose, and the larger size of the new avionics. The upgrade will also include overhaul of the J-52 engines by IAI. Weapons upgrade will give the aircraft the ability to fire new air to air missiles, Gabriel 3 or AM-39 Exocet anti ship missiles, and the ability to carry Laser Guided munitions. Cost estimates per unit are valued at $5 Million.
Another new aircraft program to start soon is the S-2 Turbo Tracker program. Due to the successful operations of S-2 Turbo Trackers from Argentina's Navy, the Brazilian navy has now moving ahead with its own program. Six former USN S-2F Trackers are being sought. They will be upgraded to S-2T Turbo Tracker configuration with Garrett TPE331|Honeywell TPE-331-14GR]] turboprops and new avionics. Three will be converted to use as COD aircraft, and one will configured for tanking duties for mid air refueling. The last 3 will be configured for AEW missions. Possible electronics configuration will be similar to the Air Force's R-99 AEW aircaft. Marsh Aviation of Mesa, Arizona, will be supporting the program.
The last and current upgrade to Sao Paulo's airwing is the replacement of the SH-3 fleet by 6 ex-USN S-70B Seahawk helicopters. They were purchased in 2008, and are currently being upgraded and refurbished for delivery. 2009 is the expected year of delivery of the helicopters and a package of engines and support equipment.
Crew
Its crew consists of approximately 1,400 sailors (90 officers and 1,320 enlisted). This number can be raised to 2000 men, given the composition of the Onboard Aerial Detachment(DAE), in accordance with the varied nature of the missions that Task Force will be used for.
It is actively used for the qualification and re-qualification of rotary and fixed-wing pilots (with about 500 catapult launches) and the first Brazilian exercises to practice carrier-based attack missions.
Gallery
See also
External links
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