The 1st Interceptor and Strike Fighter Squadron (; VF-1), known as "Falcon Squadron", is the Brazilian Naval Aviation unit created to fly McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighters on aircraft carriers of the Brazilian Navy (MB). The decommissioning of NAe São Paulo in 2017, after more than a decade inoperative, limits the squadron to taking off from land-based runways, especially its headquarters at the São Pedro da Aldeia Naval Air Base (BAeNSPA), Rio de Janeiro, where it is subordinate to the Naval Air Force Command. Its planes had the designations AF-1 (single-seater) and AF-1A (two-seater), later changed after modernization in 2015–2022 to AF-1B and AF-1C. The VF-1 operates the only fighters in Brazil outside the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). It was the last squadron in the world to fly the Skyhawk from aircraft carriers and, together with the Argentine Air Force, is the last military operator of that plane.

The Brazilian Navy's desire for embarked fighters has existed since the 1982 Falklands War, when the importance of the navy's air defense against aircraft and anti-ship missiles, which can reach surface assets in a few minutes, became evident. The interceptor planes would be one of the elements of the embarked air wing and would be part of a "layered defense" of the ships. On land, they could provide close air support to the Marine Corps. The opportunity to acquire fighter jets arose in the 90s, when the FAB deactivated its 1st Embarked Aviation Group (GAE) aboard the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais. Since the "Castelo Branco corollary" of 1965, Naval Aviation was restricted by law to helicopters, but the navy overcame political resistance in the FAB and obtained a new presidential decree authorizing its planes. Since then, relations with the FAB have improved, and there is frequent joint training. The chosen plane was a batch of 23 Skyhawks purchased from Kuwait in 1998. The Skyhawk originates from the 1950s and was not designed as a fighter/interceptor, although it can be used in that role.

The investments required in personnel and infrastructure were heavy. Pilots, called "hunters", take almost four years to train, including periods in the United States Air Force and Navy. The squadron only started flying from Minas Gerais in 2001, but that ship was too limited for fighters and was replaced in that same year by NAe São Paulo. Shipborne operations, focused on training a critical mass of pilots, reached a peak in 2003, but both the aircraft carrier and fighters suffered serious availability issues. In addition to being difficult to maintain, the planes were outdated: there were no modern weapons such as guided bombs, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles, nor in-flight refueling planes and early aerial warning to make fighters more efficient. Only eight pilots were qualified for embarked operations in 2005.

Embraer was contracted in 2009 to modernize twelve Skyhawks; thus, half of the original fleet would already be retired. After the official decommissioning of São Paulo in 2017, the contract was reduced to just six aircraft, which were delivered from 2015 to 2022. The expected useful life is until 2030, and its successors studied by the navy are the Gripen NG, also chosen by the FAB, or the F/A-18 Hornet. However, if the squadron becomes like any other land-based fighter unit, an argument may arise for its deactivation. The modernization gave the squadron the most advanced variant of the Skyhawk ever developed, with modern sensors and digital instruments, but the purchase of weapons was only in the study phase. The Brazilian Navy still values these aircraft in maritime reconnaissance, as they can reach the limit of the country's exclusive economic zone in 30 minutes and, with their new radar, identify naval targets 160 kilometers away. The VF-1 still sends fighters to exercises across the country.

Creation

Demand for fighter jets in the Brazilian Navy

Observation of the Falklands War, fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982, made the Brazilian Navy realize its weakness in a hypothetical conflict in the South Atlantic. Argentine aircraft sank or damaged several British ships with anti-ship missiles and bombs, and only did no more damage due to the heavy casualties they suffered to British aircraft with air-to-air missiles. By offering air superiority and power projection over land and sea, aircraft carriers confirmed their importance as the core of fleets. Brazil had the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais, acquired in 1956, but its function was anti-submarine warfare; it did not have the ideal size and capabilities to operate jets.

Officers in academic positions in the 1980s, breaking with this paradigm, began to defend a fleet with power projection, equipped with its own fighters.Soon after the war, in 1983, Minister of the Navy Maximiano Eduardo da Silva Fonseca presented a statement of reasons for the purchase of 12 A-4 Skyhawk aircraft to president João Figueiredo. The seller would be the Israeli Air Force, but there were no financial and political conditions for the purchase. Still before the war, at the turn of the 70s to 80s, the purchase of Israeli Skyhawks, to be operated by the FAB aboard Minas Gerais, was vetoed by the Ministry of Planning. Another possibility, the development of an onboard version of the Alenia/Aermacchi/Embraer AMX A-1 attack aircraft, was announced, but was canceled in 1985.

The following decade brought more arguments in favor of having fighters on board. With the end of the Cold War, the hypothesis of using Minas Gerais to defend maritime commerce against Soviet submarines no longer had a place. The goal changed to a "balanced squadron", with air coverage for its surface assets sailing far from the coast. It was also argued based on the performance of the naval force in exercises and air support for Marine Corps contingents sent on United Nations peacekeeping missions. The end of the useful life of the FAB planes embarked in Minas Gerais, and of the aircraft carrier itself, was approaching, opening up an opportunity for the navy. The Brazilian Air Force had no plans for a replacement for its maritime patrol P-16 Trackers, organized in the 1st Embarked Aviation Group (GAE). It was going through one of the worst moments in its history and had higher priorities, such as SIVAM.In the absence of the 1st GAE, Minas Gerais was reduced to the role of a helicopter carrier.

The choice for the A-4 Skyhawk

The Brazilian Navy decided to directly obtain a batch of interceptors instead of the slower route, which would be to first acquire training aircraft. The chosen model would need compatibility with Minas Gerais and equivalence to the Super Étendard of the Argentine Navy. The options considered were the Étendard itself or the A-4 Skyhawk. The Skyhawk was chosen as an "opportunity purchase", taking advantage of the offer of retired models from the Kuwait Air Force with many spare parts and good condition: an average of 1,700 flight hours, without exhausting on-board operations, and, thanks to the desert conditions, little corrosion. An opposing argument was that obsolete planes would end up unusable due to the lack of logistical support.

The Skyhawk is an American jet known for its service in the Vietnam War in the 1960s, in which it took off from U.S. Navy aircraft carriers to bomb land targets. Interception of enemy aircraft was the responsibility of the F-4 Phantom II. The A-4 was designed as a bomber. Attack aircraft like it have crucial differences from dedicated interceptors like the F-4. The attack aircraft has good maneuverability, but its externally transported load has high drag, creating aerodynamic problems and making it difficult to reach supersonic speed. The interceptor needs precisely this speed to fulfill its function, in addition to flying at higher altitudes. The Skyhawk is a subsonic aircraft, but it can exceed the supersonic speed when diving. For admiral Armando Amorim Vidigal, the Skyhawk is not ideal for the role assigned to it by the Brazilian Navy, and the right thing to do would have been to buy interceptors and aerial early warning aircraft. However, it was unlikely that these planes would be able to operate in Minas Gerais. In 2000, an article in Revista Marítima Brasileira suggested that the Skyhawk's successor would be a multiple-purpose aircraft, combining attack and interception characteristics, as it was already trending in the United States.

On the other hand, the U.S. Navy itself recognized the possibilities of the Skyhawk as a fighter, assigning some to the air defense of aircraft carriers. Its Skyhawks on bombing missions ended up engaging in aerial combat with MiG fighters, and after the war they simulated opposing MiGs in training. Because of their low cost and relatively cheap maintenance, large numbers were exported to other countries, where, in a lightweight configuration, they could serve as fighters on small aircraft carriers. Australia and Argentina operated Skyhawks from aircraft carriers of the same class as Minas Gerais. The robust structure of this aircraft for embarked operations ensured longevity in service. The Skyhawks of the Argentine Air Force and Naval Aviation were the most successful aircraft in attacks against ships during the Falklands War, but suffered heavy casualties. Most of its flights were made from bases on land, as the aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was removed from the operations zone after the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano by a submarine.

Technologically, the A-4 Skyhawk entered service in 1956 and was equivalent to two generations of fighters before the F/A-18 Hornet, a multiple-purpose aircraft that, in the 1990s, replaced the A-6 as an attack by the U.S. Navy. In the same decade, the Argentine Air Force acquired modernized Skyhawks (Lockheed Martin A-4AR). After the Gulf War in 1990–1991, Kuwait replaced its Skyhawks with the F/A-18 Hornet. Kuwaiti A-4s had been purchased in 1974, along with Mirage F1 fighters, and fought in the war. At the time, they were advanced within the Skyhawk family, but by the end of the 2000s the gap in relation to modern multi-purpose fighters was clear. Brazilian Skyhawks were the last in the world to take off from aircraft carriers. In 2014, with the imminent decommissioning of Israeli A-4s, Brazil and Argentina were the last countries to fly this plane.

Political factors

Officers went to Argentina and Uruguay in 1994 to train as pilots. In September 1996, Navy Minister Mauro César Rodrigues Pereira presented his statement of reasons for purchasing the aircraft. However, the navy's ambition came up against the legal prohibition of having fixed-wing aircraft. Its fierce dispute with the Brazilian Air Force over embarked aviation had concluded in 1965: a decree restricted Naval Aviation to helicopters, disappointing the naval officers. Three decades later, they returned to the same agenda.

Minister Mauro César would have as internal obstacles the FAB, the army and the economic agenda of Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government, and externally, Argentine distrust.. Book 2. The Argentine Navy became an ally, as it already developed good relations with the Brazilian Navy and, after deactivating its aircraft carrier in 1997, it intended to keep its naval aviation functioning. The Argentines, and not the FAB, helped train the Brazilian Navy pilots during this period. Two Argentine officers were part of the Brazilian delegation in Kuwait, and an A-4Q from the Argentine Naval Aviation was used for tests on board Minas Gerais.