After exactly six years since the last edition (2018), from 3 to 15 November 2024, took place again CRUZEX, the largest multinational air exercise in Latin America.
Over the years, CRUZEX (Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise) has gained more and more importance and has incorporated new elements, new challenges and new scenarios, trying to adapt to the changes in military strategies and equipment that are thought to be used in a modern conflict.
One of the main objectives of the exercise has always been to provide valid training for all the participants for the planning of joint air operations, including ground attack, air refueling, reconnaissance, SAR and CSAR, air defense, escort, air alert and control, cargo and paratrooper drops, to name a few.
No less than eighty aircraft belonging to the air forces of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, the United States, and as the only European representative, Portugal, were deployed in Natal AB.
Brazil, being the host country, tried to get the maximum benefit from the exercise, deploying nearly all available operational assets: the Força Aérea Brasileira deployed C-105s (Casa C-295M) Amazonas, F-5EM/BMs Tiger II, A-29Bs Super Tucano, A-1AM/BMs (AMX/AMX-T), KC-390s Millenium, F-39sE Gripen (JAS-39E), E-99M/R-99Ms (Embraer 145), and H-36s Caracal (Eurocopter EC-725) SAR/CSAR helicopters; in addition, an A-4KU (AF-1C) and a TA-4K (AF-1B) of the Brazilian Navy were present.
Argentina deployed four IA-63s Pampa III and one KC-130H; Colombia one KC-767 MMTT; Chile one KC-135E, three F-16Cs and two F-16Ds; Paraguay three T-27s Tucano and one C-212; Peru five K1-TPs Torito and one KC-130H; the United States six F-15Cs from the Louisiana ANG; and finally Portugal a brand new KC-390.
The available airspace (called COMAO) had an extension of approximately 200 miles by 200 miles within the country; at the edges of this quadrilateral were positioned three areas for in-flight refueling (DRINK), and a further area (WATCH) was intended for AEW and ISR aircraft, which governed and controlled all the operational phases.
The motto of CRUZEX -War is simulated, .. training is real- well represents the type of operation that engaged the crews and all the military personnel who participated in the exercise. In total, more than 800 missions were planned for a total of 1500 flight hours: the actual flight operations included two daily waves, from late morning until sunset, therefore excluding any night-time activity.
As highlighted by Brig. Gen. Ricardo Guerra Rezende, Commander of the Natal Air Base and CRUZEX 2024 Director, "the objective of the exercise is to develop cooperation and relations between Brazil and the participating nations, sharing experiences and tactics already acquired for the planning of the so-called COMAO (Composite Air Operations), and aims to strengthen interoperability between the air forces of the different Countries, promoting joint training in complex and tactically challenging scenarios. The exercise is not intended to highlight the supremacy of one air force over another, nor to designate winners and losers. On the contrary, the exercise provides joint training in which each country contributes its knowledge and capabilities to the collective evolution of the forces involved".