Brazil II 2024
Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise (CRUZEX) is a multinational and operational exercise organized by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) since 2002, aimed at joint training in conflict scenarios and promoting the exchange of experiences among participating countries. The 2024 edition, took place from November 3rd to 15th at the Natal Air Base, and brought together 16 countries, more than 3.000 military personnel, and around 100 aircraft, both Brazilian and foreign.
Given the great interest in the CRUZEX exercise, we thought it would be better to divide the trip into two groups, otherwise it would have become too big and confusing. And that was a good decision.
The second tour was largely the same as the first, except that no missions were flown on Friday, although there were a few visitors that day. The biggest disappointment was the departure of both A-4s on Tuesday morning, before we arrived and they did not fly on Monday. C’est la vie!
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The trip did not start very relaxed on 10 November 2024, as our flight from Amsterdam to Lisbon was considerably delayed. Such that we would miss the connection to Natal. We left Amsterdam 1.5 hours after the advertised time and landing just before the time the next flight was due to leave. Fortunately, it was clear to the TAP crew that there was a large group for Brazil onboard and they waited for us. We were very happy about that.
Just after 22:00 we landed in Natal, where the paperwork for five cars naturally took a while, the hotel was also not very smooth, despite the fact that all the check-in work had already been done in advance, and about an hour after midnight most of us were in bed.
On Monday 11 November 2024 we had to get up early, because we had to report at the base at 07:00. We were able to have breakfast in the hotel on time and the short drive to the base went smoothly. It was a new week for the exercise, so there were different spotters and press people at the check-in, but that went well once we figured out how it worked. A number of spots had been set up on the base where we could stand and during each session, morning and afternoon, we would end up in a different place, always taking into account the position of the sun. On this morning we were first put on the spot along the northeast side of the eastern runway. Here you could take pictures on the runway as well as on the taxiway and ramp. After a few hours the first session was over and we had photographed over 50 different aircraft, not bad at all!
At noon we were taken by bus to the old civil terminal where you could buy delicious street food with a refreshing drink. In the terminal there is a nice museum and also several stands with caps, patches, t-shirts etc. from different units.
In the afternoon we went to a spot on the west side of the same runway. Here you could nicely capture the aircraft during take-off and landing. The afternoon missions were always a bit smaller, about 35 aircraft.
At the end of the day we took the bus back and headed for the hotel. There you could choose to eat there or one of the many places in the area. Everyone went to bed with a wonderful aviation feeling, but there were more places on the bases that we could explore and we were looking forward to that!
On Tuesday 12 November 2025, we got up early again and did the same ritual. Give your name at the base again and get on the bus, this time to a spot on the southeast side of the eastern runway with a view of the many sheds where the local and visiting aircraft were parked. Just before we entered the operational area with the bus, we heard two aircraft take off, and those were the two navy A-4s that had not flown the day before. Too bad, if they had waited fifteen minutes, we would have been at a very nice spot for a photo.
At this spot, most aircraft had their wheels off the ground, some just not and others were already airborne, so plenty of variety! During landing, the light was more difficult again, but if you looked back, there was a nice taxiway, where the visiting aircraft passed by with very nice light. In the afternoon we went to the same spot as the day before in the afternoon.
Also thanks to the preparatory work in advance and in the week before, there was the opportunity for evening/night photography this evening. That was not possible in the first week because the group was too big. After the last aircraft had landed and returned to their spot, a space was set up near the Gripen, among others, where we could experiment with night photography. The sun was just setting, the sky was orange with some clouds, which gave a cool effect. We stayed until it was really dark, and that goes pretty quickly there, and were able to capture several AMX, Gripen and Super Tucano’s.
Wednesday 13 November 2025 and Thursday 14 November 2025 were more or less the same, in the sense that we visited different places, also different from the days before, and were able to fill our cards with many great photos and our bellies with delicious street food. Happy times!
We knew that no missions would be flown on Friday 15 November 2025 and all kinds of plans were made, such as driving dune buggies, lazing in the pool/on the beach and visiting other sights in the region. With walking and local taxis/Uber that is easy to do. However, we were also given a list of transport aircraft that would arrive and then the blood runs where it cannot go. Everyone was informed and part of the group went to see aircraft for part of the day. First an old MB326 in a museum in the south of the city was visited and then we saw a number of C-95 Bandeirantes, a KC-30, C-95 and KC-390 in the aproach. Furthermore, a number of F-5s took off and that is always nice to see. The rest of the day was filled in by everyone individually until we went to the civil airport late in the evening for the flight back. This was now nicely on time and in Lisbon we had to wait a few hours for the flight home.
It was again a great experience with many special aircraft that you do not see in Europe. Hopefully the next edition of CRUZEX will not be so long in coming.
