More than 3,500 service members from 16 countries increased interoperability during Brazilian Air Force- (FAB) sponsored Exercise Southern Cross, better known as CRUZEX 2024, November 3-15, at the Natal Air Base in Brazil. The multinational exercise brought together more than 100 aircraft to improve participating armed forces’ joint tactics and technical training.
“Here we simulate a war, but the exercise is real,” General Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, FAB commander, said in a statement. In addition to Brazil, the eighth edition of CRUZEX brought together service members from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, the United States, and Uruguay.
“Exercises like CRUZEX are proof of the participating air forces’ commitment to ensuring regional security and cooperation, highlighting the values and professionalism of their members,” the Argentine Air Force (FAA) said in a statement.
“This multinational training aims to increase interoperability between the participating air forces, as well as validate tactics and share experiences in the use of air power in missions planned and executed under NATO methodology,” the Chilean Air Force said in a statement.
“CRUZEX 2024 has established itself as the largest military air warfare training event in Latin America,” the FAB added.
The exercise saw the participation of Argentina’s IA-63 Pampa and KC-130H aircraft; Chile’s KC-135 and F-16; Colombia’s KC-767; Paraguay’s AT-27 and C-212; Peru’s KT-1P and KC-130; Portugal’s KC-390, and the United States’s F-15 and KC-46 Pegasus, Brazilian news site G1 reported. For their part, South Africa, Germany, Canada, Ecuador, France, Italy, Sweden, and Uruguay sent military observers.
Tactical simulations
In the first week of CRUZEX, participants carried out familiarization and integration flights between the forces. “At this stage, the pilots get to know the region and the crews can adapt to the area of operations and the procedures with air traffic control agencies,” the FAB said via YouTube.
In the second week, service members intensified their activities, carrying out composite air operations. “Squadrons and aircraft alternated between ‘blue country’ and ‘red country’ on each mission, providing a series of tactical simulations and challenging missions carried out by all the air forces involved,” Brazilian news site R7 reported. Some missions involved more than 40 aircraft flying simultaneously, the FAB said.
Cyber operations
The great novelty of this edition of the exercise was the introduction of cyber scenarios. “For the first time in the history of CRUZEX, cyber operations played a pivotal role,” U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Madeline Herzog said. “CRUZEX 2024 introduced ‘CRUZEX CYBER’, a simulated cyber exercise designed to integrate cyber defense with traditional air operations, marking a new frontier in military training.”
The simulation used the “Capture the Flag” model, where participating forces were tasked with protecting and attacking virtual systems. “Cyber is going to be embedded in every piece of our cyber warfare and having a cyber force that is able to manage and work in these environments with our partners is immensely important,” said U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant Robert Woods, Vermont Air National Guard cyber warfare officer.
Colombia, Argentina, and Peru
The Colombian Air Force (FAC) actively participated in the air operations with its Boeing KC-767 “Jupiter” tanker aircraft, carrying out in-flight refueling missions. “The crew of the FAC’s KC-767 was part of this air scenario, mobilizing its capabilities with the utmost professionalism, efficiency, and expertise, to refuel aircraft from different countries during training missions, for which this in-flight logistics support is essential to extend operating time,” the FAC said in a statement.
The FAA worked with the Peruvian Air Force on a joint parachute launch. “Personally, [this] is a very good experience, which helps us to fraternize with the armed forces of different countries and be able to demonstrate and represent our country,” Airman Sergio Barrionuevo, a flight mechanic with the FAA’s C-130 Hercules Weapons System’s First Air Brigade, said in a video released by the FAA and the Argentine Ministry of Defense.
Space warfare
Another feature of CRUZEX 2024 was the Space Operations cell, dubbed SPACE, which coordinated complex activities in the space domain. “Structured into two sub-cells (Space Domain Awareness and Earth Observation), SPACE carries out operations ranging from monitoring and simulating space events, such as launches of anti-satellite weapons, to obtain synthetic aperture radar and optical images of aerial targets,” the FAB’s Agência Força Aérea reported.
The Space Domain Awareness sub-cell was responsible for analyzing orbital data, identifying events that represented threats to space assets, and proposing countermeasures to reduce them. The Earth Observation sub-cell focused on the use of satellites to obtain high-precision images.
“An outstanding feature of this sub-cell in CRUZEX 2024 is the strong integration between the participating countries — Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the United States, and Peru — that actively collaborated in acquiring real images of the exercise’s targets. This international cooperation is essential for sharing data and strengthening space observation and intelligence capabilities among nations,” the Agência Força Aérea reported.
For Brazil’s Minister of Defense José Mucio Monteiro Filho, CRUZEX is an essential space for joint learning and improving military response capabilities. “CRUZEX 2024 is a symbol of Brazil’s commitment to world peace and security, enabling different nations to share their knowledge, cultures, and defense practices,” Minister Mucio said.
