(DefesaNET) On January 30, 2023 Iveco – Oto Melara (CIO) Consortium delivered the two prototypes of the Armored Cavalry Vehicle Centauro II to the Brazilian Army, at Leonardo’s facilities in La Spezia / Italy. The vehicles were received by the Army Chief of Staff, Army General Valério Stumpf Trindade.
The event was a historical landmark since it was the first time that the Brazilian Army acquired a new vehicle of the highest technology updated with the international state of the art. When incorporated to the Mechanized Cavalry units, the Centaur II will place the EB Armored Forces at the level of the strongest armies of today.
The Centaur II will represent the largest deterrent instrument of the Brazilian Land Force, bringing a modern Hitfact 2 turret with powerful 120mm, smoothbore, 45 caliber cannon.
The first two prototypes will be evaluated in Italy by a team from CAEx (Army Evaluation Center) and will then undergo operational tests in Brazil, in Santa Maria/RS. The contract foresees the minimum acquisition of 98 vehicles and can reach 221 units.
The final assembly and integration of the vehicles will be done in Brazil. On the offset side, the production of the 120mm ammunition at IMBEL and the development of a simulator by AEL Sistemas are foreseen. Brazil should be the export base for Latin America, with Colombia, Peru, and Argentina already showing interest in the vehicle.
DefenseNet Opinion
Due to the technological and operational leap that the Armored Combat Vehicle Cavalry – Medium on Wheels (VBC Cav MS) Centauro II will bring to the Brazilian Army and considering the current world scenario, with an important war with continental involvement and global impact in progress, there are already discussions within and outside the Army about the need to prioritize the acquisition of the Centauro II against other projects such as the modernization of the VBR Cascavel and the VBC CC Leopard 1A5 (Armored Combat Vehicle Combat Car)
The Centaur II brings a military capability that the Army never had and that only new and modern vehicles can bring. These capabilities cannot be achieved by upgrading vehicles that are more than 50 years old.
Today, buying new and modern vehicles that will operate for decades only costs 2 times more than a modernization that will bring limited capabilities, either by technology and technical challenges, and mainly logistical, with the absence of spare parts in the market.
Prioritizing the Centaur II, substituting the Cascavel for a light tactical vehicle and initiating the acquisition of a new combat vehicle equipped with the same turret as the Centaur II is a strategic choice, which will place the Brazilian Army in the world vanguard in terms of technology and military capabilities.
*** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***