How easy would it be to invade a Latin American country?

NEGI RK Sunday, January 24, 2021

How easy would it be to invade a Latin American country?

Whether crossing the Andes, the Iguaçu or the Amazon, or the Atlantic, any army would find it hard to attack Brasil. Its vastness, equal to that of the continental US is another formidable barrier. Like the US, the old Soviet Union, and England, Brasil’s geography is a defensive force multiplier.

The Super Tucano is pretty irrelevant in terms of an air war. It’s a designed for CAS, which assumes air superiority. I mean, the Super Tucano would lose in a dogfight to a p-51 (sans the radar and missiles) let alone pretty much any fighter 3rd generation and up. I mean hell, the F-5 would cream a Super Tucano in air-to-air combat. And the US doesn’t operate the Super Tucano, they’ve put them through trials for a bid and purchased several for the Afghani Airforce (considering its an excellent airframe for what it’s designed), but doesn’t operate any.

The Super Tucano is cheap to make, cheap to operate, and can stay airborne for very long. For covering a territory as big as Amazonia, it is perfect. An invading force will face a similar problem as the Luftwaffe found in the Battle of Britain: by the time they reach any target, they will have very little fuel to dogfight; not enough craft to fight with; and the cost of flying their sorties will be orders of magnitude higher than keeping airborne the tiny little buggers they’re trying to shoot down.

Maintaining air superiority from carriers in the Persian gulf and air bases in friendly countries around Iraq is a whole different kind of task as doing that over a whole continent of jungle with plentiful vegetation in which to hide SAMs from satellite and radar.

Nobody is implying that the US would be interested in invading Brazil, and no other invading force would be equal to the task. Without US support for the invaders, Brazil would be supplied enough with parts for proper interceptors such as the Grippen to keep the Tucanos safe, and the land troops Tucanos are designed to harass, unsafe.

Today, Brazil is the main power in Latin America, the first place in the specialized defense rankings, with a huge gap from the 2nd and 3rd places, including Mexico, and well above Venezuela, which was in 5th place and has been falling, unable to materialize Maduro's empty threats.

Just to illustrate this leadership, we have the only aircraft carrier in the region, a submarine fleet three times the size of Venezuela's fleet, fully operational, and one more, nuclear, on the way.

PHM Atlantico.

And state-of-the-art frigates.

Tamandaré Class frigate: Brazilian Navy next acquisition.

Brazil has its own technology in anti-ship missiles.

MANSUP Anti-Ship Missile being launched from the Barroso Corvette

Another one.

Not impressed yet?

Meet Tikuna (S-34)

This baby above took part on PASSEX 2010, a joint military exercise. With his Mk48 torpedoes, Tikuna pierced the escort of frigates, corvettes and "sunk" the American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, along with his 70 F / A-18 "Super Hornet" fighters on board.

Brazil also has the most advanced radar system in the region, Cindacta IV, which covers the impressive area of 5.2 million square kilometers.

It covers the entire Brazilian side of the Amazon and is used for both civil and military purposes. Together with the Brazilian Air Force, which uses the world famous Super Tucano light attack and training aircraft (also produced in Florida, USA) to maintain regional air supremacy, and to shoot down planes used by drug dealers from time to time (our current main threat), Cindacta IV can even track planes flying at very low altitudes.

A-29 Super Tucano. Guess which Air Force is currently using Brazilian made planes?

Brazil has purchased and has helped to produce Swedish generation 4+ jets, which should be available soon and replace its Northrop F ‐ 5EM and Dassault Mirage 2000C aircraft. The first flight of the Brazilian Gripen F-39E took place on August 26, 2019, in the airfield of the SAAB plant in Linköping, Sweden.

Brazilian Gripen F-39E

We also have our own AWACS:

Embraer R-99

…and our own modern transport jet:

Embraer C-390 Millennium

Therefore, at least on the air side, Brazilian borders are well protected. The real challenge is the land and river borders, due to the size of the area and the large number of rivers below.

The Brazilian Army has military bases in the region and a specific command center only for the Amazon, the Military Command of the Amazon (Comando Militar da Amazônia, CMA), based in Manaus. Four Infantry Brigades specialized in combat in the jungle are subordinate to the CMA, an Engineering Brigade for buildings and a Regional Military Command.

It includes the world-renowned CIGS (Jungle War Instruction Center), which provides training for the best armed forces around the world, including the American Army. It is a world reference in combat in the jungles.

Soldiers from CIGS.

Invading the Amazon would be hell on earth.

The trees are very close together, which makes the soldiers very distant from each other. Even if they stay close, they will be one after the other. Standing one behind the other, it is easy for a Brazilian Army soldier on top of a tree to neutralize everyone with a machine gun or even a sniper. Either way, being away from one another facilitates the use of traps and increases the fear factor in enemy soldiers.

Also, we have plenty of Special Border Platoons.

With so many trees and irregular terrain, the use of armored vehicles are prohibitive. There's no way to put an armored vehicle or a jeep there. In addition, the trees are very tall. There are some places where you can't even see the sunlight, because the leaves on the trees cover it.

Also, it rains a lot and, it rains intensely! These rains would punish opponents, who together with the excessive heat, would make the forest turn into "green hell". Nor did I mention venomous snakes and jaguars, among other ferocious animals present in the forest.

Yeah, it rains a lot.

Lastly, but not least, I would like to point out a remarkable elite fighting unit, perhaps not so famous because it is brazilian.

GRUMEC (Combat Divers Group)

Reputed as one of the hardest in the world, the Brazilian Navy Combat Diver's indoctrination and training methods are similar to other combat diver units such as the American SEALs British SBS (Special Boat Service or the DINOPS (Detachement d'Intervention Operationelle Subaquatique) belonging to the French Foreign Legion

The enlisted consists in corporals or male sergeants with less than 30 years of age and able to reenlist. They must endure a 42 weeks of instructional activities (also drawn as to the officers), and those who resist the enormous physical and mental pressure of the course will be adequately prepared for the specialized tasks assigned to MECS. The pressure is constant so that, typically, a group that started the course, only about 30 to 40 percent receive final approval and with it the coveted wings (badge).

Its said that in 35 years of its existence, only 192 members were approved.