Five vehicles compete to be Brazil’s future 8×8 armored combat vehicles

The Brazilian Army (EB) has received proposals from five companies for the acquisition program of 98 8×8 medium cavalry armored combat vehicles (VBC CAV-MSR 8×8), whose deadline for submission of bids ended yesterday.

According to the portal Tecnologia & Defesa, the land force will have to choose between:

• Centauro II of the Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium (CIO);
• LAV 700, proposed by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C) in association with John Cockerill;
• ST-1BR of the Chinese Norinco;
• Eitan, presented by the Brazilian Ares, the local subsidiary of the Israeli Elbit Systems;
• and the Kestrel, developed by the Indian company Tata.

Now, the Brazilian Army will have until October 7 to analyze the proposals and the subsequent disclosure of the shortlist. According to the schedule, the selected vehicle will be announced on November 25, and the contract will be signed on November 28 or 29.

CIO CENTAURO II

Developed by the Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium (CIO), a joint venture between Italian firms Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV) and Leonardo, the Centauro II is considered the benchmark in armored wheeled fighting tanks, as it is the only one developed specifically for this purpose and not an adapted armored personnel carrier.

The version presented to the EB is the same as the one being put into operation by the Italian Army, weighing approximately 30 tons and equipped with a second-generation Leonardo Hitfact MkII turret armed with a 120mm/L45 gun.

This same turret was offered for the modernization of the Leopard 1A5 BR, whose program has already been approved. One of its strengths is that IDV has a manufacturing unit in Brazil, in the city of Sete Lagoas (MG), where it develops the Guarani 6×6.

GDLS-C/John Cockerill LAV 700

The LAV 700 has been developed from the Canadian Army’s LAV 6.0. It is equipped with a more powerful 711 hp engine and other improvements introduced for Saudi Arabia, which acquired 742 examples of different versions for the Saudi Royal Guard.

With virtually the same features as the Stryker armored vehicles used by the U.S. Army, the LAV 700 is a modern and robust vehicle with scalable ballistic protection, a double “V” hull for protection against explosions from below, such as mines and improvised explosive devices, energy-absorbing seats and a laser warning system.

The LAV 700 Assault Gun is offered, equipped with the John Cockerill 3105 turret with a 105mm/L5 gun.

It also features a 42º elevation angle that allows it to engage high-altitude targets such as those located on top of buildings, urban or mountain theaters of operations, and provide fire support to the infantry with indirect fire.

This turret is also offered for the modernization of the Leopard 1A5 BR.

NORINCO ST1-BR

The Chinese ST1-BR is a customized version for EB requirements of the ST1 Advantage model.

This vehicle has a combat weight of 24 tons, is the only one with amphibious capability among the candidates, and features a new turret equipped with a 105mm/L52 gun, the Chinese version of the Royal Ordnance L7 series, which also has a large capacity as a differential lifting its tube.

Belonging to the VN1 family, which operates in the Armed Forces of five countries, including the Venezuelan Navy, and participates in the VCBR competition of the Argentine Army, the ST1 version is in use – besides China – in the Nigerian Army, where it actively participates in combat actions against the terrorist group Boko Haram.

ELBIT/MANTAK EITAN

Israel’s Elbit Systems, through its Brazilian subsidiary Ares Aeroespacial e Defesa, surprised by proposing the Eitan, an armored vehicle developed by Mantak, a company linked to the Israeli Ministry of Defense and created for the development of the Merkava family of armored vehicles.

Its design phase was completed in 2020, and the first units were delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 2021, with more than 300 vehicles ordered.

The proposed EB version is equipped with the new Elbit 105/120 turret with a 105mm/L52 gun but can receive the 120mm/L45 gun for two occupants and with automatic loading.

The company reported that the turret also went into production and has already been sold to other customers, such as the Philippines, which should receive its first armored vehicles this year.

According to the company, the vehicle and the tower are in series production, but it did not say whether the same is true for the proposed version.

TATA KRESTEL

Another big surprise unveiled was the Kestrel model from India’s Tata Advanced Systems.

Also known as WhAP (Wheeled Armored Platform), it is a member of a family of armored vehicles developed in conjunction with the Defense Research and Development Organization, the leading research and development agency of the Indian Ministry of Defense, to replace aging Soviet-era armored vehicles.

So far, versions armed only with 30 mm guns have been fielded, with the Elbit UT30 Mk2 turrets.

The company participated in the refinement of the public consultation, but without including a turret, and information about the proposed version has not yet been released to the EB.

With information from Tecnodefensa