The Brazilian defense in 2023, an uncertain prognosis

If the deliveries of equipment, the production of systems and the technological development mark the year in Defense of a country, Brazil has all the ingredients to achieve a 2023 of great successes. 

But if the partisan political field contaminates the decisions of the Brazilian State, then paradigms will be broken and the analysis will become unfeasible, since it is uncertain to deliberate on chaos.

That is why LAAD, which returns to the calendar of events in April 2023 in Riocentro, will be decisive as a thermometer event for the paths that the Brazilian Defense must follow. In its return after the Covid-19 pandemic, the fair promises to move the market, especially in relation to the acquisition of the Strategic Programs of the Armed Forces.

The Brazilian Defense Industrial Base, after warming up its machines at the Mostra BID Brasil, in December 2022, will share rooms and pavilions with the biggest and best companies in the sector from around the world.

Contests and programs from neighboring countries will also be on the market’s radar, making the fair truly continental, whether by land, sea or air. In the field of Strategic Programs, the Brazilian Army must carry out more launches of the AV-MTC 300, in order to declare the system approved and operational in 2024, which may even give a new impetus to the Astros product in the international market.

The Centauro II pair contracted for evaluation and testing arrives before the end of the first half of the year, and throughout 2023 and 2024 these cars will undergo a busy series of campaigns and trials.

The rescue and relief trucks purchased from Navistar begin to arrive at the Port of Paranaguá in April 2023.

AV MTC 300

In the Aviation PEE, the Nauru 1000C drones will have the arduous task of helping to create a 100% Brazilian doctrine for the armed SARP, with the advantage that the integration of the MBDA Enforcer will go hand in hand with these studies.

There are rumors that the Army Aviation intends to launch a contest to acquire up to 12 armed helicopters, a process that would start in 2023.

The recent visit of an Army Aviation delegation to Italy, where the aviators tested the A-129 Mangusta, confirms that the Army has not given up on getting its attack helicopter, or at least a medium-sized multifunctional artillery platform like interim solution.

The best rated models are Leonardo’s AW169, Textron’s BlackHawk and Airbus Helicopters’ H-145M, a five-blade artillery version.

The still unpublished wheeled self-propelled combat howitzer should be chosen by the end of 2023, in the most optimistic scenario.

In fact, and especially for the Brazilian Army, the LAAD 2023 will be essential to help in some important elections, such as the embarked 120 mm semi-automatic mortar, intended for the 6×6 Guarani.

The M200 multi-mission radar prototype should be unveiled during or shortly after the show, along with other major Air Defense PEE advances.

If the partisan question is kept outside the Defense environment, and the strategic programs are respected in their fiscal execution throughout the year (end of contingencies), the Army will achieve its main objectives within the minimum levels acceptable for an institution of its size and relevance to the Defense Industrial Base.

The Brazilian Air Force is expected to prioritize the continuity of large programs, such as the Gripen BR, the KC-390, the Micla BR and the continuity of the works and deliveries in Anápolis, which serve both fighters and transport aircraft and early warning, command and control aircraft.

In this way, the Anápolis Air Base will gradually assume its role as the nerve center of Brazilian aerospace power as it receives more Gripen fighters and KC-390 transports.

Another important continuity action will be the signing of the contract for the conversion to MRTT of the first KC-30 delivered to the Air Force in 2022, so that this aircraft will return to Brazil after being converted to MRTT at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025.

With the deliveries of new secondary radars equipped for IFF employment, it will be possible to further expand the capabilities of the F-39E/F Gripen fighters.

For the Brazilian Navy, 2023 will be a year of challenges such as the delivery of the Humaitá submarine to the Fleet, the continuity and completion of the works on the Mangaratiba Patrol Boat, at the facilities of the Navy Arsenal in Rio de Janeiro, and the establishment of new contracts with ICN, among others.

The Nuclear Program foresees important advances in Labgene, which is the submarine’s nuclear reactor on land, and in the nuclear fuel production processes.

In the Marine Corps, deliveries of the JLTV 4×4 armored vehicles, initially scheduled for October 2022, should take place throughout 2023, as well as other equipment from the Pro Adsumus program!

Construction of the first Tamandaré frigate is expected to reach its first completion with keel laying, scheduled for March 2023. Launch is scheduled for June 2024 and delivery to the Brazilian Navy for December 2025.

In the Mansup program, the firing of pilot missiles 02 and 03 is planned, and the industrialization of the system should finally begin. In another line of action, it will be necessary, once again, to extend the useful life of the Niterói frigates that are still operational. The largest ships in the Fleet, such as the NAM Atlantico and the G40 Bahia, will have to alternate periods of general maintenance, in order to maintain the landing and takeoff qualifications on board, day or night, for operational pilots of rotary wing of the Naval Aviation.

With information from Infodefensa