According to reports, the Brazilian military wants to buy from Russia three batteries of Pantsir-C1 anti-aircraft missile systems (up to 18 machines with weapons, plus some auxiliary equipment), as well as several dozen Igla portable anti-aircraft missiles. The total amount of the transaction is approximately one billion US dollars. An additional condition from the Brazilian side is the transfer of technological documentation for the “Panther” and “Needles”, with the help of which the South American country will be able to organize their production at their enterprises. It is worth noting that the factories where it is planned to assemble anti-aircraft systems and rockets are only being built and will work a little later, in the coming years.
As noted by the Brazilian General de Nardi, the documentation on the proposal for the transfer of technological information has already been prepared and sent for approval to the administration of the President of Brazil. A little later, after approval, it will be sent to Russia, and at the end of this February high-level negotiations will take place, during which some parties to the upcoming contract will be considered. The Russian media report that the Brazilians were also offered Tor-M2E air defense systems, however, based on the results of studying the characteristics and consultations with the Russian military, it was the Pantsir-S1 that was chosen.
Brazil’s requirements for the transfer of documents and the organization of licensed production are quite understandable. Under existing conditions, such a step would save on logistics, etc. Matters a lot of time and money. At the same time, the construction of new enterprises can completely "eat" all the savings in production. It should be noted that the money invested in the construction of factories will remain inside Brazil and will have a beneficial effect on economic and social processes, at least on a regional scale.
There is reason to believe that the sale of a license for the production of anti-aircraft complexes will have positive consequences for Russia. According to the source of the Kommersant publication, equipment produced in Brazil under a license will be considered domestic products and, as a result, there will be no need for constant international tenders for the supply of air defense systems. Thus, having sold the license, Russia can get a simple and effective channel for the promotion of its military equipment to Brazil, and then, possibly, to other countries of South America. Since the plants for the licensed assembly in legal terms are likely to be joint ventures, if necessary, purchase the next equipment for the country's air defense system, the Brazilian military will be able to announce a domestic tender, without going international. In this case, they will receive the necessary equipment and are likely to save time and money on finding the best option out of several.
It is worth noting that the requirements for creating a joint venture are not something new. Not so long ago, Brazil and Russia agreed to jointly produce multi-purpose Mi-171 helicopters. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such economic and organizational measures are undertaken with one goal - raising the technical level of one of the parties to the contract. Brazil is currently striving to become a regional leader, and for this it needs its own powerful defense industry. The Brazilian military admits that their air defense does not yet fully comply with world standards. Thus, one contract can solve two problems at once: upgrade the air defense system and raise the capabilities of its defense industry.
Already now, before signing a contract for the supply of ready-made complexes and technical documentation, it is possible to make certain assumptions about the future of Russian-Brazilian cooperation in the field of armaments and military equipment. Not so long ago, the Russian concern Almaz-Antey presented to the Brazilian command a draft of a radical renewal of the country's air defense system. This project involves the division of Brazilian airspace into five zones, for each of which will be responsible for its operational merger. Inside each of the zones it is planned to create a three-echelon defense system. It is noteworthy that the project provides for the use of only Russian-made systems. So, the current plans of Brazil regarding the purchase of the “Shell-C1” may well be the first step in a large-scale re-equipment and restructuring of its air defense.
It is quite possible that after the completion of the construction of new production enterprises, the Brazilian side will buy a license to manufacture other air defense systems that will serve along with Pantsiry. There is also a small chance that the Brazilian military will be able to negotiate with the Russian defense industry for the supply of the latest C-400 air defense systems, and this will undoubtedly increase the combat potential of their anti-aircraft formations. Thus, there is every reason to assume that in the future the total volume of Russian-Brazilian contracts will constantly grow. So, from 2008 to 2012, the South American country received arms and military equipment for more than 300 million dollars. The coming contract promises to be more than three times larger.
In the future, military-technical cooperation between Russia and Brazil may expand. Not so long ago, the Brazilian military announced the cancellation of the tender for the supply of fighters worth about five billion dollars. A number of experts interpreted this as a lack of necessary money from Brazil, but it is worth taking into account the position of the country's leadership. Brazil’s current president, Dilma Rousseff, opposes the possible purchase of French fighters. Therefore, Russian defense officials have the opportunity to propose the creation of a joint aircraft building enterprise and introduce, as an additional condition to the contract, the purchase of a number of fighters, for example, Su-35 or even future export T-50 / FGFA.
In general, the future contract looks mutually beneficial for both parties, but there is also cause for concern. So far we can not exclude the possibility that Brazil, having fully armed its army, will start producing Pantsiri and Needles for export, bypassing agreements with Russia. Admittedly, this development is possible, but so far all the actions of the Brazilian military and political leadership indicate the opposite. It seems that at present this country is more interested in arming its own army, rather than in export earnings. Therefore, the possible risks of "pirated" production should be taken into account, but not overestimated.
Nevertheless, detailed terms of the contract for the supply of anti-aircraft systems present the greatest interest. In addition, in view of the relatively small volume of deliveries - less than two dozen missile-gun complexes - we can expect new agreements. It is possible that the expected contract will imply the delivery of only ready-made complexes, and Brazilian enterprises will begin assembling Russian systems in accordance with the following, which will be signed later.
On the materials of the sites:
http://kommersant.ru/
http://pravda.ru/
http://ria.ru/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/