On July 2nd, the Brazilian Army (EB) issued Ordinance EME/C Ex Nº 1.341/2024, which creates a Working Group (GT) for negotiating the Compensation Agreement to be held within the Project for Acquiring Medium Wheeled Armored Cavalry Combat Vehicles 8×8 (VBC Cav-MSR 8×8).
The Group will participate in negotiation meetings and advise the Head of Logistics Command Material, Brigadier General Eron Pacheco da Silva, on the best Compensation Agreement proposal. Its members include:
Coordinator: Colonel Sidney Marinho Lima (C Mat/COLOG)
Army General Staff (EME): Captain Antonio Henrique Duarte (primary) Major Silas Raffael Alves da Silva Gomes Rabelo (alternate)
Logistics Command (COLOG): 1st Lieutenant Alexandre Nascimento Gama (primary) Captain Marina Martins de Lima Neves (alternate)
Army Science and Technology Department (DCT): Captain Tiago Jonata de Souza Oliveira (primary) Captain Raphael Borges Lins Maciel Monteiro (primary) Major Márcio Nascimento de Souza Leão (alternate)
Upon concluding the negotiation work, the GT must produce a Final Report with proposals, challenges, and lessons learned within a period of up to 30 (thirty) days.
Historical
In November of 2022, the Brazilian Army, through the Logistics Command (COLOG)/Material Directorate (DMat), announced that the 8×8 Centauro II tank destroyer, equipped with a 120 mm 45-caliber cannon, had won the anticipated international public tender for the VBC Cav-MSR 8×8 project.
The project is part of the Army’s Strategic Armored Forces Program (Prg EE F Bld), with an estimated total cost of over BRL 30 billion (USD 5.49 billion). The Prg EE F Bld is scheduled to run until 2040 and was included in the Growth Acceleration Program (New PAC).
Developed by the Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium (CIO), a joint venture between Italy’s Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV) and Leonardo, the armored vehicle surpassed the LAV 700 AG (General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada) and ST1-BR (Norinco) systems, both equipped with 105 mm cannons, in the competition.
The initial contract, signed in December of 2022, provided the delivery of two prototypes within a period of up to 48 months for technical and operational tests in Brazil. In total, the Consortium must deliver 98 armored vehicles to the Land Force by 2038.
According to sources consulted by the Zona Militar portal, the first prototype is expected to arrive in Brazil in the coming days, after bureaucratic obstacles at the port of Hamburg, Germany. The second prototype will remain in Italy for evaluations before being sent to Brazil later this year.
You may also like: The Brazilian Army is evaluating the acquisition of high-altitude air defense artillery systems
