Brazil News
| MANAUS, Brazil – Two A-29 Super Tucano fighters from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) attacked, on Saturday (12), a clandestine runway 218 km from Boa Vista, capital of Roraima state. The Air Force dropped general purpose 230 kg aerial bombs on the site, located deep in the Amazon near the Venezuelan border, cratering the airstrip with holes 10 meters across and three meters deep, according to online media reports.
Two A-29 Super Tucano Fighters over Amazon (Photo: FAB/Folha)
According to FAB commander of the operation, the Air Force Command Center, 700 km away, in Manaus, followed the action in real-time. “The attack closed the runway, used by illegal miners and causing environmental damage in the region. No aircraft can land there now,” the commander told Portal Amazonas.
Scorpio Squadron executed the attack using two Brazilian-made A-29 Super Tucano fighters which approached the runway at 1,200 meters altitude diving to 600 meters – ideal for altitude bombing. “They dropped the bombs which hit the ground at a speed of 550 kilometers per hour. The attack was very precise,” said the commander of Scorpion Squadron to Portal Amazonas.
The weaponry used is known as Low Drag General Purpose Bomb or BAFG 230. The Brazilian-made bombs are 2.22 meters long, 27 cm in diameter and weigh 500 kg.
The runway which the fighters attacked is 280 meters long and 15 meters wide. The Air Force made the first reconnaissance of the site on April 11. They made images of the airstrip with the aid of infrared sensors. The survey indicated that areas close to the strip suffered deforestation by illegal gold miners. The mining activity caused damage to vegetation and polluted the Catrimani river due to the use of mercury in the process.
Brazil Air Force Attack (Photo: FAB/Folha)
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