Brazil pulled the plug on the on it's only aircraft carrier, the NAe Sao Paulo

The São Paulo (foreground) in a joint exercise with US forces in 2004.

The Brazilian Navy has long maintained a persense on the high seas, maintaining a modern naval aviation arm for decades. One of the few Western hemosphere navies to ever operate aircraft carriers, the Brazilian Navy has decided to decommission it's only aircraft carrier the NAe Sao Paulo the former French Aircraft Carrier the Foch.

The Brazilian Navy purchased the Foch with hopes it would serve for decades to come in the early 2000's. It underwent modernization but still had checkered reliability problems.

The Brazilians sought to field aircraft that could be precured secondhand and proven carrier borne platforms. They decided to seek American carrier aircraft on the world market, namely the A-4 Skyhawk purchased from Kuwait.

This ship served as a training platform for multiple world navies to include the Peoples Navy (China) and Argentinia. The S-2T Tracker (COD) aircraft above preparing for flight is apart of the Argentinian forces.