Brazil Bombs Remote Airstrips | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.16.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.17.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Thu, Oct 09, 2003

Brazil Bombs Remote Airstrips

"We're Trying To Prevent These Airstrips From Ever Being Used Again"

Brazil has taken to aerial attacks to prevent drug smugglers from basing in the Amazon jungle. It's a pilot project, so to speak, aimed at curing the use of remote airfields deep in the Amazon Basin.

For a long time, when Brazilian federal police spotted a suspected drug-smuggling strip, they marched into the jungle, wired it with explosives and blew it up. But drug traffickers would then round up laborers, march them into the jungle and repair the damage. The joint operation between federal police and the Brazilian Air Force is aimed at making the airstrips unrepairable.

The strikes began this year with an attack on a landing strip near Brazil's border with Suriname. An attack planned for later this month will be the first in the northwest region of Brazil's Amazon known as "the dog's head", police said.

As part of joint operations between the federal police and air force, Brazil last month began surveillance of the dog's head using its airborne Amazon Vigilance System. The system gives police information to locate landing strips and track planes transporting Colombian drugs across Brazil into Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana on the way to markets in Europe and the United States.

At least a week ahead of the airborne assaults, police will raid the landing strip areas with sufficient force to outnumber any forces protecting the jungle air strips, police said. Agents then secure the strips and also work with local Indians to ensure they stay away from the area targeted for airstrikes. Then they act as FACs (Forward Air Controllers) to guide the airstrikes.

FMI: www.defesa.gov.br

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.15.25): Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach

Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach An approach conducted while operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan which authorizes the pilot of an aircraft to proceed >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.15.25)

“When l became the Secretary of Defense, I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.15.25)

Aero Linx: Stearman Restorers Association Welcome to the Stearman Restorers Association. The Stearman Restorers Association is an independent “Not for Profit” 501C-3 Co>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Kjelsrud Gary Kitfox

Airplane Exhibited A Partial Loss Of Engine Power When It Was About Halfway Down The Runway Analysis: The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was departing from his pr>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Cessna A150L

The Flight Path Was Consistent With Low-Altitude Maneuvering On June 18, 2025, about 0922 mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L airplane, N6436F, was substantially damaged when it>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC