This is the Brazilian eye in the sky, the
Embraer 145 ISR – Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft – which contains
some of the most advanced electronic systems used today in modern warfare. With its powerful radars and sensors this
medium-sized platform can spot threats from hundreds of kilometres away, gather vital
information and simultaneously relay them to allied units in real time. This episode of Know Your Plane will focus
on the military version of Embraer’s successful regional jet series that is employed by the
Brazilian, Greek, Mexican and Indian air forces. As a disclaimer, this video will cover the
Embraer 145 ISR platform in general but with a special focus on the Surveillance Aircraft
model operated by the Brazilian Air Force. Included in this video are the history of
the platform, a short explanation of its different variants and the specifications of the aircraft
and its electronic systems. The origins of the Embraer surveillance aircraft
date back to September of 1990 when the Brazilian government established two major programs
focused on the Amazon region. With land borders totalling over 11,000 kilometres
the Amazon is Brazil’s strategic northern frontier and with a size of 5 million square
kilometres consisting mostly of jungle and unpopulated territory it is no wonder that
monitoring the borders of the Amazon is a challenge for the Brazilian government. Elements that threaten Brazilian sovereignty
include active guerrilla groups based across the border and who are known to have stepped
into Brazilian territory, the most notable case being the Colombian Revolutionary Armed
Forces, and the trafficking of both drugs and weapons into Brazil. Equally important to the country is the monitoring
and control of the enormous airspace over the region, the protection of the mineral
resources under the Amazon forest against illegal exploration, and the protection of
the jungle and its biodiversity against pollution, unrestricted logging activities and most notably
fires who have the goal of clearing the jungle for agricultural land – as a matter of fact
by the year of 1990 these activities I just mentioned had already eliminated over 13%
of the original Amazon forest, an area larger than France. In order to strengthen its sovereignty and
tackle the issues previously mentioned the Brazilian government established the SIPAM
(Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia / Protection System of the Amazon) together with
another program called SIVAM (Sistema de Vigilância
da Amazônia / Surveillance System of the Amazon). One measure of these two programs included
the installation of several radars across the forest to improve monitoring capabilities
over the Amazon, however because of the size and lack of infrastructure of the area it
just wasn’t viable to install enough radars to cover all the airspace over the forest,
moreover these radars did not have the capability of detecting aircraft at altitudes under 10,000
feet which proved to be another issue since aircraft involved in drug and weapon trafficking
usually fly just over the treetops. In order to detect these low flying aircraft and cover
the airspace beyond the range of ground-based radars the Brazilian government ordered special
modifications of existing air force aircraft that were supposed to patrol the skies over
the forest. In the year of 1994 the government decided
that in addition to the capability of monitoring and controlling the airspace, this special
aircraft was also to monitor the forest in search of pollution, illegal activities and
collect data for scientific research purposes and with the goal of developing better policies
for the region. The chosen aircraft was the nimble Embraer
120 Brasília who was employed by the Brazilian Air Force as a light transport aircraft. During preliminary studies for the necessary
modifications of the Brasília it was noted that the equipment required was too heavy
for the lightweight plane, actually the Brazilian Air Force would need three Brasílias
in order to carry all the weight of the equipment. One of the most important pieces of equipment
was the Swedish active electronic scanning radar PS-890 Erieye who had been chosen for
the SIVAM and was meant to be carried by a small aircraft, but with the Brasilia being too
light the air force began studying possibilities for the deployment of a Boeing 727 attached
with the Swedish radar by the end of 1994. The platform of choice for the Erieye radar
had not been decided by 1996, in that year Embraer flew the long-range version of its
regional jet series, the ERJ-145LR which had a range of 3,000 kilometres. Given the success of Embraer’s civilian
jet and the fact that Embraer had knowledge of the military program since the Embraer
Brasília was initially the platform of choice, in 1997 the Embraer ERJ-145LR (Long-Range)
was chosen as the platform for the Swedish Erieye radar in the SIVAM program. The new aircraft was to be known as Embraer
145SA (Surveillance Aircraft) and featured several modifications which we will talk further
along the video. In total the Brazilian Air Force ordered 8
aircraft. 5 Embraer 145SA, whose Ericsson PS-890 Erieye
radars were all purchased in 1998, and 3 Embraer 145RS (Remote Sensing) aircraft. The remote sensing variant has a different
radar under the aircraft that is meant for acquiring data of grounds targets and collecting
information about the terrain. The first Embraer 145SA prototype flew on
May 22, 1999 and the first Remote Sensing prototype flew on December the 18 of the same
year. Despite some initial delays, the first batch
of 3 aircraft was delivered to the Brazilian Air Force in July of 2002. Upon officially entering in service the Surveillance
Aircraft variant was assigned the name “R-99A” while the Remote Sensing variant became known
as “R-99B”. However, there were some changes in the designation
of the Brazilian Air Force in June of 2008 and since then, the Surveillance Aircraft
variant became known as E-99 while the Remote Sense variant became the R-99. By the end of 2003, the remaining five aircraft
have been delivered to the Brazilian Air Force and all Embraer 145 ISR aircraft have since
then been based at the Anápolis air force base where they are flown by the Guardian
Squadron (Esquadrão Guardião). Up to this day the military version of the
Embraer 145 is an essential asset for the Brazilian Air Force’s effort in monitoring
and controlling the Amazon and the borders between Brazil and its western neighbours. Frequently working together with the E-99
are also the A-29 Super Tucanos who often perform interceptions of suspicious aircraft
detected by the E-99 which in turn has the responsibility of overseeing the whole interception
process. Usually the interceptions are successful in
making the small aircraft carrying drugs or weapons land but there have been a few cases
in interceptions controlled by E-99 where the Super Tucanos had to fire warning shots,
like in this case, or even shot down the non-responding aircraft in some more extreme
occurrences. *Orders given in Spanish* "Intercepted aircraft CP-1424... ...you are disobeying the orders from the air defense... ...our aircraft is armed and authorized to use its weapons to make you comply with the orders issued." *Super Tucano fires warning shots* Apart from the 8 Embraer 145 ISR aircraft currently in service with the Brazilian Air
Force, Embraer has also exported its ISR platform to 3 other countries: Greece, Mexico and India. These countries all operate different or modified
versions of the aircraft, the specifications for all these different models go beyond the
scope of this video but here’s a short history on all of them. Greece ordered 4 aircraft in 1998 and they
are a modified version of the Embraer 145SA known as the Embraer 145H (Hellenic). These aircraft have upgraded electronics and
were all delivered in 2005. One notable mention of this aircraft’s service
with the Greek Air Force is that it participated in NATO’s operation against Libya in 2011
by identifying targets and controlling aircraft from France and Qatar in patrols, interceptions
and attack missions. Mexico purchased 3 aircraft in March of 2001
including one Embraer 145SA and two Maritime Patrol versions to fight against drug trafficking
in the south of the country and protect Mexico’s strategic areas. The aircraft were delivered in 2004 and since
then they have been integrated with Mexico’s SIVA (Integrated Air Surveillance System). Last but not least is India which has purchased
3 aircraft equipped with a refueling probe in 2008. The Indian aircraft are to be fitted
with India’s own electronic equipment. The first flight of the Embraer 145I (India)
was on December 7 of 2011 and the first aircraft arrived on the following year for system integration
with the Indian Air Force. I should also mention that Embraer, in partnership
with Lockheed Martin, had won the bid of the Aerial Common Sensor program from the American
military in 2004. According to the program, Embraer was to supply
a total of 57 aircraft to both the US Army and Navy. However the American military cancelled the
program where the Embraer aircraft would substitute the RC-12 (King-Air), the RC-7 (Dash 7) from
the army and the EP-3 Aries II from the navy. With all these different operators mentioned
let’s perform a very quick explanation on the different variants of this aircraft. At first, we have the Embraer 145 SA, Surveillance
Aircraft, whose only operators are the Brazilian and Mexican Air Forces. Five aircraft have been manufactured for Brazil,
where the aircraft are known as the E-99, and one airframe was sold to Mexico. The most remarkable features include the Erieye
radar mounted on the top of the fuselage and some additional antennas mounted on the tail. The next aircraft is the Embraer 145H, an
improved version of the Surveillance Aircraft with an upgraded Erieye radar, datalink compatible
to NATO standards and flare and chaff dispensers. Greece currently operate four of these aircraft
which belong to the 380th Squadron. The Indian Air Force purchased three EMB-145I
fitted with a refueling probe. This variant is based on the Surveillance
Aircraft model, however all the electronic equipment comes from India’s Defense Research
and Development Organisation. Another aircraft is the Embraer 145 RS, Remote
Sensing, which is operated exclusively by the Brazilian Air Force and is also known
as multi-intel. With its synthetic aperture radar and multispectral
imager, it can produce topographic maps, conduct research on natural resources, analyse the
soil and subsoil by its reflexivity and even determine if the vegetation is healthy or
not by measuring the absorption chlorophyll from the air. The last version of the Embraer 145 is the
Maritime Patrol aircraft whose name is self-explanatory. This aircraft was initially developed for
the Brazilian government. However due to changes in the requirements
which asked for a four-engine aircraft with internal weapons bay the Embraer 145 Maritime
Patrol was discarded for usage by the Brazilian navy. Mexico is the only operator of this variant
having acquiring two aircraft. Now that we’ve briefly talked about all
variants, let’s take a closer look on the Surveillance Aircraft used by the Brazilian
Air Force. The E-99 has almost the same dimensions of
the civilian Embraer 145LR, height and length are the same - 6.75 and 29.87 metres respectively. However the E-99 is 96 centimetres wider than
the civilian plane at 21 metres thanks to the addition of winglets which improve endurance
and flight time. It’s worth pointing out that the E-99 was
Embraer’s first aircraft to feature winglets. Amongst its notable modifications, the E-99
has strengthened joints between the fuselage and the wings to accommodate the mounting
of the Erieye radar and eliminate the risk of shaking or vibration which would result
in inaccurate readings from the radar. The radar is mounted at an angle of 6 degrees
because during patrols the aircraft’s flight profile is pointed slightly up in order to
improve range and endurance, therefore in these conditions the radar is pointed to the
horizon. Compared to the civilian version, you can
also see the addition of several fins throughout the aircraft with many of them working as
antennas for the aircraft’s electronic systems. Also note the lack of windows on the mid-to-rear
fuselage, there’s where the data processing computers are located. Now let’s move to the interior of the aircraft. Behind the cockpit of the E-99 there is a
galley and resting area that can accommodate up to five people that are not involved with
the operation of the aircraft or its electronics. The next section of the plane consists of
three interchangeable consoles where the three operators would work. Aft of that we have the electronic equipment
including the processing computers and going towards the rear of the aircraft you can see
these six rectangles - they are actually six fuselage fuel tank cells which add a total
of 2,405 litres to the fuel capacity of the plane. Finally, at the rearmost part of the aircraft
we have a lavatory and a baggage compartment. For a regular mission the E-99 crew consist
of the two pilots, one tactical coordinator, one electronic warfare operator and one intercept
officer - therefore a total of five people. However, the book I’ve read mentions that
usually the mission crew is 8, so you can add some 3 aircraft or electronic equipment
technicians to the total. The powerplant of the E-99 consists of two
Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engines, the same engines used by the civilian Embraer
145 family, therefore performance of the aircraft is largely the same. The maximum cruise speed of the E-99 is Mach
0.78 and its service ceiling is of 37,000 feet, but the maximum performance of the E-99
doesn't translate to its operation. In order to save fuel and maximize endurance
the E-99 flies at around 170 knots or 314 km/h at an altitude of 30,000 feet when patrolling
the skies. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get information
on the endurance nor the range of the E-99 but I would estimate a range between 3,000
to 4,000 kilometres given the extra fuselage tanks. Other notable features worth mentioning is
that the military versions of the Embraer 145 have a more powerful APU to handle all
the electronic equipment and improved navigation systems both by GPS and inertial navigation. When talking about the electronic systems
of the E-99, obviously our main focus is the Ericsson Microwave Systems, now part of Saab,
PS-890 Erieye active phased array Doppler radar antenna mounted on the top of the fuselage. The Swedish radar provides early warning and
can detect air targets up to distances of 500 kilometres with a scan rate ranging from
3 to 12 degrees per second. The system can also detect small and slow
aircraft, such as aircraft involved in drug trafficking, flying at speeds under 108 km/h
up to distances of 450 kilometres. According to the material I’ve read, the
Erieye detection envelope consists of 500 kilometres to the side of the aircraft and
269 kilometres to its front or back. Flying at high altitude, the Erieye detection
area is over 500,000 square kilometres horizontally and 20 kilometres vertically. The Erieye radar can also detect naval targets
up to distances of 350 kilometres but this limitation is due to the angle of the plane
with the horizon - because unlike some people might say, Earth is not flat. The system also comes integrated with a Mark
X IFF capable of identifying targets up to 450 kilometres away. In total, the radar system is capable of tracking
300 targets simultaneously while the E-99 can at the same time effectively control 6
interceptions, usually performed by the Super Tucanos in the case of the Brazilian Air Force. But to say that the E-99’s capabilities
are limited to long range detection and airspace monitoring would be an understatement. Adding to its powerful radar, the aircraft
also features an advanced communications exploration system capable of detecting, locating, triangulating
and recording communications transmitted on frequencies between 2MHz to 16GHz. These communications can also be transmitted
to other aircraft in real-time with a secure datalink connection via VHF or UHF with the
aid of frequency hopping techniques. Air-to-ground communications are also possible
and the E-99 takes advantage of the several ground stations located throughout the Amazon
which connect the E-99 aircraft to the SIVAM’s general coordination centre in Brasília. Now even though the E-99 has state of the
art electronic equipment onboard, I want to make it very clear that the E-99 does not
have jamming equipment or jamming capabilities, on the contrary the E-99 is very resistant
to enemy jamming. All in all, the E-99 is modern platform capable
of providing early warning and detection, airspace management and collection of intelligence. Adding to the advantages of this plane, the
E-99 has a very short time in-between sorties – just roughly 20 minutes – and perhaps
more importantly: it is an affordable option. Coming from the commercially successful Embraer
145 series of regional jets, the entire 145 ISR platform shares low operational cost coupled
with a reduced inspection frequency and ground time which allows the aircraft to fly over
3,000 hours annually - over 8 hours per day of every day in the year. To give you an idea on the operational cost
of some AWACS aircraft currently in service I’ve found the following data on the hourly
cost of each aircraft, but please take these numbers with a grain of salt. The E-2 Hawkeye from the US Navy reportedly
costs about $3,000 per hour, the EC-130 over $3,500, the E-3 Sentry about $8,000 and according
to the same source the E-99 would cost less than $2,000 per hour. However this is not to say the E-99 is the
cheapest AWACS aircraft in regards to acquisition and operational costs because there are also
turbo-prop AWACS aircraft including the Saab 340 from the Swedish Air Force that is also
equipped with the Erieye radar. To conclude our video, the Embraer 145 ISR
family includes some of the most advanced military aircraft in operation today and are
a good option for medium sized countries who either can’t afford or don’t need the
large AWACS aircraft. Instead they can count on an affordable and
versatile plane to act as their eye in the sky that is capable of airspace monitoring
and management, maritime patrol, antisubmarine warfare, remote sensing and intelligence collection
coupled with the optional in-flight refuelling. As always, sources are in the description
and I would like to thank my Patrons who helped me in buying the one and only book written
about this plane. Hope you have enjoyed this video and see you
next time!
