The two Mirage jets prepped their air-to-air missiles as they both climbed above the clouds and increased their speed from Mach 0.98 to Mach 1.15
Brazil never considered getting involved in the Falklands war, despite being close to the battle area.
However, after conflicts over control of the islands between Argentina and the U.K. on April 2, 1982, Brazil expressed its support for Argentina, and its bases were alerted.
The radars of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) noticed a massive aircraft coming from the north without permission at about 20:00 on April 9. (FAB, Brazilian Air Force). The aircraft was identified as a Cubana Ilyushin Il-62 traveling to Buenos Aires and carrying the Cuban envoy to Argentina by the air defense operators who made contact with it.
The two QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) Mirage IIIEBRs were scrambled after its pilot refused to comply with the order to land at Brasilia, but due to a strong storm the pilots, Major Aviador Paulo César Pereira, the section leader, and 1° Tenente-Aviador Eduardo José Pastorelo de Miranda, the wingman, were only able to take off at 21:00, but because of a problem with his navigation system, Pastorelo was forced to take off a few minutes later.
Pereira moved in the direction of the airplane that was passing above Porto Nacional. He was flying at roughly 31,000 feet and the wingman was following him at 29,000 feet. The high cloud cover prevented him from using the onboard radar to find the intruder. As a result, the target was located by the Ground Control Intercept (GCI) when it was wheeling to the left.
While the leader and wingman both readied their air-to-air missiles, the two Mirages rose above the clouds and increased their speed from Mach 0.98 to Mach 1.15.
The Ilyushin was recognized by the two fighters after they were able to establish visual contact. The flying crew responded that they were headed to Ezeiza International Airport in Argentina when the ground controller again ordered the plane to land at Brasilia.
The leader moved to the left of the Ilyushin and the wingman to the right until they were quite near to the cockpit as per the command to the Mirages to make them visible to the airliner. In their book Latin American Mirages Mirage III/5/F.1/2000 in Service with South American Air Arms, Santiago Rivas, and Juan Carlos Cicalesi detail how they made one more contact with a Cuban airplane from the ground while communicating in English: “Cubana 1225, you have been intercepted! There are two fighters alongside your aircraft. You are ordered to land in Brasilia immediately!” The Il-62 pilot responded after a while, “Roger, Roger, Brasilia! Give me instructions! The Mirages closely tracked the airliner over Brasilia, but when they ran out of gas, the fighters returned to base just in time for the Il-62 to touch down.
Five hours after landing, the Il-62 was given the go-ahead to take off once more. The attempt by the Cuban envoy to mediate in the conflict before the arrival of the American ambassador in Argentina was later identified as the cause of this unauthorized flight.
Even though they weren’t scrambled again, the FAB Mirages were kept on guard for the duration of the conflict.
Photo by Força Aérea Brasileira
