Brazilian Army equips “Soldier of the Future” as part of the COBRA project

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – As part of the Brazilian Combatant (Combatente Brasileiro – COBRA) Program, the Brazilian Army’s Soldier of the Future project purchased vests, helmets, assault backpacks, and radios.

The “Plate Carrier” type ballistic vests that will equip the Army have a Kevlar plate (a light, heat-resistant synthetic fiber that offers high resistance to traction) on the front, rear, and sides of the combatant.

Similarly, modular ballistic helmets have been acquired, which, equipped with level III-A protection, allow the implementation of various optronic means, such as a monocle of Brazilian technology, providing the soldier with good resistance to gunshots, shrapnel, and knife attacks, for example.

In addition, the Brazilian Army has purchased many accessories that make up a real “armor for the modern soldier”. Items such as the assault backpack or the polymer holster manufactured in Brazil are highlights.

The Program counts on the participation of military personnel from the Land Operations Command (COTER), the Logistics Command (COLOG), the Southern Military Command, military engineers from the Department of Science and Technology (DCT), as well as representatives from the Brazilian War Materiel Industry (IMBEL).

COBRA PROJECT

The COBRA Project was created to optimize the soldier’s combat possibilities, transforming the Individual Combatant into a “Brazilian Combat System”, a “Combat Platform” that will provide the military with uniforms, equipment, weapons, and individual protection adequate to the operational environments.

The COBRA Project is designed for its use, seeking to obtain a unified system with high technological added value.

The aim is to obtain a system that meets three fundamental needs of the modern combatant: Lethality, Command and Control, and Survival.

Although the main company involved is Imbel, several private groups have offered their devices to be integrated into the system.

In the case of AEL, for example, E-LynX Hand-Held HH7200 Software Defined Radios, E-LynX PNR-1000, the RAPTOR MKII-PRO Ruggedized Tablet, and the C2 TORCH-X device, all of which make up the TOCH-X Dismounted System.

The TORCH-X Dismounted is a modular and flexible solution, already in use in several countries around the world, such as Israel, Holland, Spain, and Australia, and in the Brazilian Naval Rifles, which offers various configurations, from soldiers to platoon commanders, snipers and advanced observers, allowing integration with different types of sensors, and enabling configuration according to the objectives of each mission. Other items in AEL’s offering were:

• SmartTrack: reliable location tracking, data linking, and navigation for portable soldiers for GPS-denied environments;
• SmartEye: soldier smart-glasses for increased situational awareness;
• Load Carry and Carry Protection (LCP): enhanced soldier mobility, including concealed armor protection, advanced cargo-carrying vest and pouches, and hydration system;
• SmartSight: transparent augmented reality digital add-on for daytime views to enhance situational awareness;
• Smart WristView: a compact handheld computer and display that serves as a powerful tactical device for the soldier;
• SmartNVG: helmet-mounted navigation accessory and C2 head-up display for night vision goggles, providing tactical augmented-reality;
• Torch-X RAS: autonomous, rugged, lightweight, highly mobile, and maneuverable off-road multi-mission tactical support vehicle.

In 2020, the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) experimentally delivered 950 sets of the pilot batch of Smart Uniforms manufactured by Astro ABC to the Brazilian Army.

The characteristics sought were freshness, thermal control, repellent, and antimicrobial action in high-performance fabric.

Imbel participates, in addition to Command and Control systems, with 5.56×45 mm and 7.62×51 mm assault rifles of the IA2 family and 9×19 mm pistols, in addition to IA2 and AMZ knives, to increase the individual operability of the combatant and the effects of the collective use of these Military Equipment manufactured in its factory in Itajubá (FI).

The Assault Rifle 5.56 IA2 (Fz Ass 5.56 IA2) was the first rifle of the IA2 family whose main features are reduced weight, intensive use of engineering polymers, improved ergonomics, and the use of Picatinny rails (MIL STD 1913) for the attachment of various accessories.

Opto Space & Defense, a subsidiary of Akaer, in turn, presented, already at the end of 2020, the first prototypes of the OLHAR VDN-X1 Thermal Imaging Monocular delivered for one of the stages foreseen in Phase 1 of the Project, elaborated with microelectronics, precision mechanics and fine optics, to meet the operational and technical requirements approved for the Cobra System.

With information from Grupo Edefa