O Senate, through the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense (CRE) approved this Thursday (10), the collegiate amendments to the 2023 Union Budget. , intended for priority programs in the Army, Navy and Air Force.

In the allocation of funds, CRE allocates R$ 1,9 billion to the Air Force, so that the FX-2 project can be continued, which is the acquisition of 36 Gripen fighters from the Swedish company SAAB. These fighters have already started to be delivered, and the project will be finalized in the coming years. Another R$ 525 million are earmarked for the Navy, with a view to building conventional submarines. CRE also allocates another R$ 150 million to the Army, aiming at the implementation of the Force's aviation system, and another R$ 50 million to the Ministry of Defense, for the implementation of basic infrastructure in the municipalities of the Calha Norte region.

The Calha Norte program (PCN) deals with the presence of the Armed Forces in the Amazon. Its strategic objective is to increase the presence of public authorities and improve defense infrastructure, education, sports, public safety, health, social assistance, transport and economic development in the region. Created in 1985, the Calha Norte project, according to the Ministry of Defense website, aims to contribute to the maintenance of national sovereignty.

Calha Norte also seeks to promote sustainable development; the occupation of strategic voids; improving the standard of living of the region's populations; the modernization of the municipal management system; and the strengthening of state and municipal economic activities.

The PCN currently covers 442 municipalities in 10 states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins. In the regions where it operates, the PCN encompasses 85% of the Brazilian indigenous population, in an area corresponding to 99% of the extension of indigenous lands.

Finally, the CRE amendments also allocate an additional R$200 million to the Ministry of Economy, dealing with contributions to international organizations of which Brazil is a member.

Source: The Senate Agency