Test firing from a 30-mm ATK MK44 cannon installed in the AEL Sistemas UT30 BR turret of the Guarani machine
The Brazilian Army's flagship initiative, Project Guarani, is shaping up to be the largest ground vehicle development and production program in South America and will definitely give a significant boost to the local industry. What is the state of affairs in this project today?
The Guarani project is one of seven long-term strategic projects for the development of weapons for the Brazilian army, included in the Strategic Plan 2008. This project will create a family of modern combat vehicles, manufactured domestically and operated by the Brazilian army.
The Guarani project (also known as VBTP-MR - Viatura Blindada de Transporte de Pessoal - Média de Rodas; armored personnel carrier - wheeled medium class) will not only provide the army with armored wheeled vehicles, but also determine the country's capabilities for design, production and support, which will ultimately help it compete in the global armored vehicle market.
Unprecedented opportunities
The curator of the Guarani project at the General Staff of the Brazilian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Martins, said that this work was "unprecedented" for the country.
He noted that the project aims at modernizing the motorized infantry units of the Brazilian army, as well as transforming some of the infantry units into mechanized brigades. According to plans announced at the end of 2009, the army could acquire up to 2044 vehicles by 2030 at a total cost of 2.6 billion euros (3.34 billion dollars).
“The Guarani project covers a whole subfamily of middle class vehicles with the following options: reconnaissance; Armored personnel carrier; mortar installation; evacuation; command post; anti-aircraft gun; fire control center; demining; and a sanitary one,”Martins explained.
These variants will be wheeled vehicles, either in a 6x6 or 8x8 configuration, but the final number of vehicles for each model and their purpose has not yet been finally determined. There is also a subfamily of light vehicles, Martins says. It includes options: reconnaissance; anti-tank; light mortar installation; radar; command post; and a forward observer vehicle. These will be 4x4 wheeled vehicles.
However, the first option to roll off the production line should be an armored personnel carrier in a 6x6 configuration; starting in 2015, it will begin to replace the EE-11 Urutu armored personnel carriers and the EE-9 Cascavel armored personnel carriers, which were at one time manufactured by the local company Engenheiros Especializados (Engesa) and had been in service for about 40 years.
Engesa stopped production of Urutu in 1987, but in 1993 the company went bankrupt, thereby putting the Brazilian defense industry on the brink of extinction. Since then, the Urutu and Cascavel vehicles have undergone the necessary upgrades so that they can remain in the army until around 2020, when the VBTP-MR 6x6 vehicles will enter service in large numbers.
From the very beginning, the modular principle was embodied in the design of the machine. Suspension and dual steering modules will simplify the transition from 6x6 to 8x8 and other options. Modularity certainly contributes to cost savings, but the main savings come from the use of commercially available components.
In partnership
The project was initially overseen by the Department of Science and Technology of the Brazilian Army, until the Italian company Iveco Defense Vehicles came in 2007 as a partner. The initial 6x6 version will have a total weight of 18 - 20 tons, a length of 6.9 m, a width of 2.7 m and a height of 2.3 m.
The technical features of the machine are as follows: automatic transmission; air conditioning; amphibious capabilities; night operations; transportation of up to eight soldiers plus three crew members - driver, gunner and commander; high speed on the highway and on various terrain (maximum 100 km / h); transportability in C-130 and KC-390 aircraft; armor protection up to STANAG 2 (armor-piercing ammunition and anti-tank mines); low thermal and radar signatures; determination of laser irradiation; GPS or inertial navigation; low logistic dependence and ease of maintenance; large cruising range up to 600 km.
VBTP-MR prototype testing
Video of tests of five VBTP-MR machines at once
“The prototype is currently being evaluated at the Army Examination Center in Rio de Janeiro,” Martins explained. "This prototype is undergoing extensive testing to ensure product quality and to determine the necessary improvements to meet the requirements set by the Army General Staff."
Testing is necessary to ensure that the new technology in the new machine is working effectively, as machine operators who have not previously operated some of the newer systems should be able to “master” the machine without unnecessary trouble. Users should be trained in the new battle management software that interacts with combat and communication systems integrated into the vehicle's electronic structure.
“At the creation stage, every opportunity for design improvements is considered, they are directly implemented in the prototype, which was delivered to the Assessment Center back in August 2011. Completion of its tests is scheduled at the Center at the end of 2013,”he added.
This Guarani vehicle is equipped with a local Remax combat module. It can be fitted with a 7, 62 mm or 12, 7 mm machine gun plus 76 mm smoke screen grenades
VBTP-MR vehicle with UT30 BR 30 remotely controlled weapon station with ATK MK44 cannon
Not a bad choice
The new weapon systems will be as follows: a manned turret; a remotely controlled combat module UT30 BR 30 with an ATK MK44 cannon manufactured by the local Elbit division of AEL Sistemas; and a remote controlled module with a machine gun.
AEL received an order worth approximately $ 15 million in September 2012 for an unnamed number of UT30 towers to be installed on VBTP-MR vehicles, although Martins said larger caliber weapons may be available for the reconnaissance option.
To support large-caliber weapons, Ares (another local company owned by Elbit), in collaboration with the Army Technology Center, manufactured the Remax remote control module. The module can be fitted with a 12.7 mm machine gun, a 7.62 mm machine gun and four 76 mm smoke screen grenades. This module is "the first combat module designed and manufactured in Brazil."
In early 2012, Ares announced that, in collaboration with the army, it had successfully integrated Remax into the VBTP-MR at the Iveco plant in Sete Lagoas and the army was purchasing the first batch of towers under a $ 25 million contract signed in October 2012. of the year.
These contracts are part of a $ 260 million framework contract signed by Elbit in January 2011 for “several hundred” UT30 BR 30mm towers. The final number of turrets and cannons is still under discussion, while the ammunition will be produced at the local Brazilian Cartridge Company ammunition plant.
Guarani is not only a major machine development project, it is an equally large industrial project. Martins reported that it consists of several sub-projects covering issues such as: R&D; integrated logistics; human resources; infrastructure; operational management; modeling; budget control; and environmental issues.
The scope and scope of the project ensures that the Brazilian army not only learns to design and build vehicles domestically, but also learns to manage a procurement program of this size, from budget and personnel to infrastructure and logistics.
“The Guarani project represents a salvation for the local industry as a manufacturer and exporter of defense products,” Martins said.
Local production
Up to 60% of the value of Guarani machines is expected to be produced domestically. This potentially equates to about 90% of all parts in a car. Such a scheme helps to develop local industry and integrate it more closely with the military and other government structures.
Field Machine Learning will begin in 2014; the Brazilian army is developing its own simulators for these machines along with the corresponding operational doctrine. The army buys components for the information and control system abroad, but installs them on machines on its own, and also conducts research to develop promising options.
A local manufacturing facility called Iveco Veículos de Defesa at Sete Lagoas was built in the state of Minas Gerais for 23 million euros. The company received in August 2012 the first fixed order for 86 vehicles worth $ 118.7 million and delivered the first five vehicles in December 2012. Another 49 cars are scheduled to be delivered this year and the remaining 32 units in 2014.
Martins said the first vehicles will go into service with the 15th Motorized Infantry Brigade in the city of Cascavel in southern Brazil, close to the border with Paraguay.
Guarani machine (VBTP-MR) from different angles
