By Suellen Siqueira
The Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro Filho, met this Friday morning (20) with the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, with the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa; and with businessmen from the sector, at the Planalto Palace.
In the opportunity, the main strategic projects of the Armed Forces were presented by the Navy Commanders, Squadron Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, the Army, General Júlio Cesar de Arruda; and the Air Force, Air Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno. The meeting was also attended by the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces (EMCFA), Fleet Admiral Renato Rodrigues de Aguiar Freire.
The Navy has as priorities the Submarine Program (PROSUB), the Nuclear Program and the Tamandaré Class Frigates Program. The Army, on its turn, highlighted, among others, the Armored Forces Strategic Program, the Integrated Border Monitoring System (Sisfron), besides the Air Defense, Cyber Defense, Aviation, and Astros 2020 programs – which consists of a system of missiles and high-tech rockets. The Air Force presented, as priority projects, the KC-390 Millennium multi-mission transport aircraft, the F-39 Gripen multi-role fighter, and the C-408 (light transport aircraft).
According to Minister José Múcio, the meeting also addressed Defense Industry investments. “We dealt with the capacity of job generation that Brazil has in the defense industry. [The meeting] was attended by the president of Fiesp, Josué Alencar, and five other businessmen, all proposing solutions for us to put resources into the defense industry, to generate employment, to generate currency, to invest in technology,” he explained.
About the support of private initiative in the investments for the area, Múcio detailed that the actions depend on articulation, employment of resources, and efforts. “These are very short-term benefits and we need to create mechanisms to have extra-budgetary money so that we can do these things,” said the minister.
Strategic projects – The strategic Defense projects promote the development of national knowledge, training, and integration of the Defense Industrial Base (BID). The projects promote capabilities to efficiently defend the country’s sovereignty and interests.
Photo: Ascom/MD
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