Ukraine wants Brazilian ambulances VBTE-AMB Guarani
Brazilian Army VBTP armored personnel carriers on parade
The Kiev regime found another foreign country, from which it is now begging for weapons and military equipment. It became known that Ukraine wants to buy Brazilian Guarani armored vehicles. The official request on this topic mentions the need for hundreds of such products, and only in sanitary modification. Such a commercial offer looks strange and leads to suspicion.
Try after try
The possible cooperation between Brazil and Ukraine in the field of armored vehicles was reported on May 8 by the Brazilian edition Tecnologia & Defesa. From its sources, it learned that in recent months the Kiev regime has already tried several times to initiate the supply of Brazilian combat vehicles. Another request of this kind was received recently, at the end of April.
According to Tecnologia & Defesa, back in September last year, Kyiv turned to the Brazilian leadership with a request for the supply of VBTP Guarani armored personnel carriers. To cover the current needs, he wanted to get from 100 to 1500 machines of this type. The Brazilian branch of Iveco (Iveco Veículos de Defesa, IVD), which builds Guarani armored vehicles, was interested in the opportunity to earn money and supported the Ukrainian request.
However, the Brazilian leadership refused to supply combat vehicles. The reasons for this decision were the need to maintain neutrality and the impossibility of supplying military products to the country conducting hostilities.
It is now reported that Ukraine has made a new attempt to get Brazilian armored vehicles. Tecnologia & Defesa claims that on April 27, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense received another request from Kyiv. However, over the next few days, the document went through bureaucratic procedures, and at the time of publication in Tecnologia & Defesa had not yet reached the head of the military department.
"Guarani" with machine gun combat module REMAX
According to the request, now Kyiv does not want VBTP armored personnel carriers, but VBTE-AMB ambulances. The desired number of such equipment is 450 units. It is alleged that such vehicles will be handed over to the emergency situations department and will be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes, to help the civilian population. The purchase of a large amount of equipment will have to pay for third countries - allies of Brazil and Ukraine.
It is not known when the Brazilian Ministry of Defense will consider the Ukrainian request and what decision it will make. At the same time, Tecnologia & Defesa believes that it should approve the signing of the contract. Thus, this document will allow the production of another modification of Guarani, as well as improve the position of such equipment in the international market. Denial of supplies, in turn, will damage the reputation of Brazil - it can be interpreted as an unwillingness to even indirectly help humanitarian activities.
Contemporary pattern
The development of a promising family of wheeled armored vehicles for the Brazilian ground forces began back in 1999. With the help of such equipment, in the distant future, they planned to replace the existing EE-11 Urutu vehicles, which was reflected in the project name - Urutu-3.
Work on the Urutu-3 project was carried out under the general supervision of the army with the participation of several commercial contractors. The bulk of the work was entrusted to the Brazilian branch of IVD. During the XNUMXs, the basic VBTP-MR platform was developed, on the basis of which several projects of machines for various purposes were completed.
At the end of 2009, the Brazilian army issued a contract for the construction and testing of 16 experimental armored personnel carriers of a new type, designated as VBTP. The program as a whole at this stage received a new designation VBTP-MR (Viatura Blindada Transporte de Pessoal, Média de Rodas - “Armored personnel carrier, medium wheeled”) and the name Guarani in honor of one of the nationalities of Brazil. In 2010-12 these machines went to the test site and confirmed the calculated characteristics.
In August 2012, with some delay in relation to the original schedule, the first order for mass production appeared. According to him, by the end of the year, the army received the first 86 VBTP vehicles. Then we signed a new major contract, thanks to which the total number of equipment by 2030 will exceed 2 thousand units.
To date, the Brazilian ground forces have received more than 600 units. "Guarani" in the version of the armored personnel carrier. In 2015, Lebanon bought a dozen cars. In 2020-21 orders have been received from Ghana and the Philippines, and Iveco is now executing them. The VBTP-MR project is being promoted internationally and new orders are expected. As is now known, Ukraine wants to become the next recipient of such equipment.
It should be noted that in addition to the VBTP armored personnel carrier, more than a dozen vehicles for various purposes with different capabilities were developed on the basis of a wheeled platform. An infantry fighting vehicle with a small-caliber gun, a self-propelled gun with a 105-mm gun, a self-propelled mortar, an air defense system, a command post, an ambulance, etc. can be built on a common chassis. However, so far only an armored personnel carrier has reached the series. If the recent application of the Kyiv regime is satisfied, then the VBTE-AMB sanitary ones will also start to roll off the assembly line.
Technical features
The Guarani project involves the construction of a unified chassis that can carry the necessary weapons or equipment. The VBTP-MR platform is a three-axle all-wheel drive vehicle with a length of 6,9 m and a combat weight of 16,7 tons. Depending on the configuration, the armored vehicle can weigh up to 20 tons.
The platform is built on the basis of a welded armored hull. In the basic configuration, the case complies with the 2nd level of protection according to the STANAG 4569 standard and can withstand a 7,62 mm automatic bullet or an explosion of a 6 kg explosive device. A hinged additional protection has been developed that increases the level to the 4th (14,5 mm bullets and 10 kg mines).
APC on the water
The layout of the case is traditional for such equipment. In the bow, on the starboard side, is the engine, on the left is the control compartment. The entire other volume is given over to the placement of weapons, crew and troops. The vehicle's own crew includes up to three people, and the troop compartment is designed for eight fighters. Access to the troop compartment - through the ramp.
An Iveco Cursor 9 engine with 383 hp is placed in the engine compartment. With the help of an automatic transmission, power is distributed to all wheels. The chassis received an independent hydropneumatic suspension and is distinguished by uneven axle placement: the gap between the rear axles is increased. The maximum speed on the highway reaches 110 km / h, the cruising range is up to 600 km. All modifications of the VBTP-MR are floating and equipped with two propellers in the stern.
Serial armored personnel carriers are equipped with a REMAX combat module with a machine gun of normal or large caliber. BMA is being tested with the UT-30BR module from the Israeli company Elbit Systems, equipped with a 30-mm automatic gun Mk 44 Bushmaster II. Other weapons options are also possible, incl. at the choice of the customer.
Sly plan
Thus, in its attempts to obtain foreign armored vehicles, the Kiev regime has already reached even Brazil. Last year, they tried to order hundreds of VBTP Guarani armored personnel carriers from her, but were refused. Now a new attempt has been made, and this time they are trying to acquire a large number of ambulances - not for the army, but for emergency services.
It all looks like some kind of cunning plan drawn up after last year's failure. It is quite possible that Ukraine is trying, under a plausible pretext, to get modern foreign armored vehicles, even if they are for auxiliary purposes. Then they can be rebuilt into full-fledged military equipment.
BMP VBCI firing from a 30mm cannon
Converting an ambulance into an armored personnel carrier does not require much effort and does not face serious restrictions. As a result of such measures, the armed formations will be able to receive several hundred combat vehicles. In the current situation, even independently rebuilt ambulances can positively affect the state of the park.
However, the implementation of such a plan directly depends on the Brazilian side. A positive response to a recent request looks unlikely so far. It is unlikely that Brazil does not understand why, instead of an armored personnel carrier, the Kiev regime now wants to get a different type of equipment and presses on humanitarian issues. In addition, the proposed method of payment with the involvement of third countries gives cause for doubt.
Even if it is decided to collect and ship sanitary VBTE-AMBs, the cunning plan of the Ukrainian leadership will still not give the desired results. The sanitary version of Guarani is not yet mass-produced, and Iveco needs time to start assembling it. In addition, it will take a lot of time to manufacture the requested number of machines.
Once in the war zone, armored personnel carriers or rebuilt ambulances will face the most serious threats. In the basic version, VBTP is protected only from automatic bullets, and the maximum configuration can only withstand large-caliber bullets. This means that the Ukrainian Guarani will become an easy target for our armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles with 30mm guns. Of course, if the Brazilian-made equipment has time to appear on the battlefield before the completion of the Russian Special Operation.
Requests and results
Thus, the Kiev regime continues to search for affordable weapons and equipment, and is now trying to get the desired samples from Brazil. The previous request was not granted, but a new application has now been submitted. How successful it will be remains to be seen. A refusal from a potential supplier looks very likely.
Sending a request to a distant overseas country can be considered another sign of the bad and constantly deteriorating state of both Ukrainian formations and their foreign patrons. The United States and its partners gave Ukraine a significant part of the “free” products, and further deliveries create risks for themselves. In this regard, Kyiv is forced to expand the range of countries to which applications are sent, but now it does not have to hope for success.
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