In early September, representatives of the Military Industrial Company and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosoboronexport handed over the first armored vehicle GAZ-233036 Tiger SPM-2 to the Brazilian special operations police battalion stationed in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
The Brazilian police plan to use such vehicles to enforce law and order at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Brazilian police have been eyeing the Russian armored vehicle for a long time and now decided to try it out in action.
After unloading in the port of Rio de Janeiro, the Tiger was taken to the Armored Vehicle Service Center, where it was examined by experts from the Brazilian police and defense ministry for two days. Within minutes of the car's arrival at the Center, the police and military literally stuck around the car, assessing its merits in comparison with those cars that are currently used by the police for patrolling. This fact was not ignored by representatives of the local media. The next morning, the mainstream newspapers in Brazil adorned photographs of the Tiger.
Two days later, the "Tiger" relocated on its own to one of the units of the police battalion of special operations, from where the next day went to patrol the suburban mountainous regions, the so-called "favelas", where the highest crime rate was recorded. Brazilian policemen mastered the simple control of the "Tiger" on the fly, giving the impression that they had driven such cars for several years. During raids on narrow streets with prolonged climbs at an air temperature of + 36 ° C, the engine showed no signs of even the slightest overheating, the coolant temperature remained within operating limits. This fact did not go unnoticed by the Brazilian specialists and was noted by them in the list of advantages of the "Tiger". They also noted the possibility of getting into the car and disembarking from it of police special forces personnel through roof hatches, side and stern doors, good visibility, high level of protection, the ability to fire from personal weapons through loopholes, low noise level and ease of control and maintenance … Tests of the "Tiger" in Brazil are planned to be completed by March 2011, after which a decision will be made on the purchase of an initial batch of cars for the police and additional requirements for the complete set of cars will be determined. The commander of the special operations police battalion, Colonel Paulo Henrique Moraes, has already asked the representatives of VPK LLC to equip the Tiger with an air conditioner and a winch (initially, when delivering this machine to Rio, the Brazilian side refused to complete these units), install an armored hood and a massive ram in front of the bumper.
If the Brazilian authorities decide to purchase the Tigers, the cars will be produced at the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant. There is no talk about the assembly of machines in Brazil yet.
According to the representative of Rosoboronexport in Brazil, Oleg Strunin, the authorities of several Brazilian states are showing interest in the Russian armored car.
The armored vehicle GAZ-233036 "Tiger" SPM-2 is serially produced at the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant, which is part of the Military Industrial Company. The vehicle has a 5th class of protection in accordance with GOST R 50963-96 (corresponds to the second level of protection in accordance with STANAG 4569) and is capable of reaching a maximum speed of 140 kilometers per hour. The car is designed to carry 6-9 people or 1.2 tons of cargo. The crew of the "Tiger" during the mission can fire from personal weapons from two opening hatches in the roof and through the opening loopholes in the armored glass in the doors and on the sides.
Currently, several models of multipurpose vehicles of the "Tiger" type are serially produced: GAZ-233034 SPM-1, GAZ-233036 SPM-2 and the R-145BMA command and staff vehicle for law enforcement forces.
The specialists of the Military Engineering Center, which is part of the Military Industrial Company, are constantly expanding the model range and improving the design of the Tigers. In the near future the company plans to present two new models of Tigers - the VPK-233114 Tiger-M and Tiger, which have a 6a protection class in accordance with GOST R 50963-96 (corresponds to the third level of protection in accordance with STANAG 4569).
