According to information provided by the Southern Military Command of the Brazilian Army, personnel from Maintenance Regional Park No. 5, located in the city of Curitiba, received a visit from engineers who participated in the development of the EE-T1 Osorio tank, with the aim of exchanging experiences with the personnel who are carrying out the refurbishment work on the two existing prototypes.
Developed by the company Engenheiros Especializados, S.A. (ENGESA), the Osorio began to be designed in 1982 with the purpose of equipping cavalry units with a tank weighing around 40 tons and a 105mm or 120mm gun (105mm caliber, rifled bore (P1) or 120mm caliber GIAT G1 smoothbore (P2)).
It was equipped with a German-origin ZF LSG3000 automatic transmission, similar to that used by the Korean Type 88 tanks and the Italians in the Ariete C-1. As for its engine, it was provided by the German company MWM, offering the TBD 234 Diesel engine with 1,000 DIN horsepower.
Despite the interest of the Brazilian Army and foreign customers such as Saudi Arabia, the company ENGESA went bankrupt around the year 2002, after almost a decade of financial difficulties. In late 2023, Maintenance Regional Park No. 5 began the task of recovering the two existing prototypes in Brazil, with their refurbishment estimated to be completed by April 2024.
While in the 1980s both Argentina and Brazil began the production of tracked armored vehicles, only the TAM (Argentine Medium Tank) managed to consolidate, giving rise to a family of vehicles that continue to serve in the Argentine Army. Although Brazil did not continue with the development of the Osorio, the project’s experience later led to the 6×6 Wheeled Armored Vehicle Guarani, as well as the modernization of the EE-09 Cascavel, developed by ENGESA in the 1970s.
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