Maj Art CEZAR Augusto Rodrigues Lima Junior
The year 1957 saw man accomplish one of the greatest feats in history. The launch of Sputnik by the Soviets represented the start of the Space Revolution. If 61 years earlier Santos Dumont had ushered in the Age of Aviation, the Soviet Union’s scientists had achieved something that would completely change people’s lives in the years to come.
The Americans weren’t far behind either and 12 years later mankind set foot on the Moon, another “big step” in the infamous space race. It is well known that the American and Soviet space programs were the result of post-war bipolarity and were part of a military context. Not surprisingly, the developer of the famous Saturn V rocket for Apollo 11, Wernher von Braun, was the engineer who many years earlier had participated in the development of the dreaded German V2.
In fact, much of the technology we use today comes from the military, especially in space. What would our lives be like today without the GPS system? Commercial airplanes orient themselves using GPS and state-of-the-art inertial systems via their constellation of satellites. Our car journeys have become easier and faster, as we can choose the best routes and shorten distances. Even television, the internet and telephony have migrated to the space domain, as billionaire Elon Musk can tell you.
We could go on at length about the benefits bequeathed to us by military programs, since their technologies always find a dual use and the civilian world ends up being the biggest beneficiary, because in between the conflicts inherent in human nature, civilization finds ways to develop. We long for peace, yet some say there is no peace, only periods between wars.
History is marked by conflicts between tribes, civilizations, ideologies, in which states seek to develop and perfect their armed forces so that they have a very “solid” argument to defend and guarantee their sovereignty and national interests. The author’s aim here is not to deal with realism or idealism in the field of international relations, but rather to recognize that war is a real phenomenon that can knock on our door sooner or later.
Bringing the discussion to Brazil, are we prepared? We are a peaceful people, we don’t seek to get involved in other people’s conflicts and we have always taken a stance against animosity. However, Brazil is a giant of 8.5 million square kilometers that holds one of the greatest biodiversities on Earth and one of the largest quantities of fresh water on the planet, as well as incalculable mineral wealth. This arouses greed, it always has. Even in colonial times, there were several attempts by the French, English, Dutch and Spanish to establish dominion over what is now our territory. Not only land, but also territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone, which is rich in oil and fish. Soon, the world will reach 10 billion inhabitants who need to be fed, hydrated and have plenty of energy. Brazil has it all. We are already the world’s breadbasket. We are already one of the world’s largest producers of animal protein.
Brazilians need to be aware of our potential. They need to wake up to the fact that wealth, even potential wealth, generates envy and greed. Many foreigners wonder if we are capable of managing all this “legacy for humanity”. Is the Brazilian Amazon, almost 60% of our territory, really ours? Can the people who live there be looked after by the Brazilian state? We know it is. We strive every day to manage our resources, but in a world where resources are projected to be scarce, the narrative can be turned against our interests.
So why does Brazil need missiles and rockets? Well, if there is one piece of weaponry today that is capable of deterring external threats in the military field, that is the missile, that is the rocket. All the above about the dual importance of these devices in the scientific-technological field is very valid. We need satellites for civil communications, monitoring fires, geolocation and information. We need to take a definitive step in the space domain. Brazil needs to launch satellites if it wants to guarantee its independence, its technological sovereignty. We have great scientists in São José dos Campos at the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) and in so many universities. We have the best launch base in the world, Alcântara. We have a history of developing rockets. The nation needs to wake up to this need. The investment, although high, will reap benefits that will later far outweigh the costs.
But back to the military field, missiles and rockets have been and continue to be key weapons in the arsenals of the main countries. There are ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, sea-to-surface missiles, anti-tank missiles, anti-ship missiles, guided rockets and ballistic rockets. There are many types, but if we look at today’s conflicts, specifically the current Russian-Ukrainian war, we will see that it is these weapons that have made the difference. On both sides, rockets launched from Smerch, Uragan or Himars platforms, anti-tank missiles, among others, have blocked the advance of armored vehicles, destroyed supply lines and depots, and cut off command and control. Even large ships like the cruiser Moskva have been sunk by missiles, as the Ukrainians claim.
The United States and China, the two big “players” in the concert of nations, but also Pakistan, Iran, Israel, France, India, North Korea, Turkey, all develop missiles and rockets. And we Brazilians, peaceful and cheerful, how do we place ourselves in this “chaotic” world? We really want peace. We want our beach, our carnival, our “cervejinha”, our June festival and to thank God every day for the majesty of living in a wonderful land where everything you plant you reap. But war may come knocking at our door. Are we prepared? Can we guarantee our peace, the peace we “fervently want”? Yes, we are. We need to invest in our war industry, in our Armed Forces and we need weapons that guarantee us deterrent power, missiles and rockets.
Today, for various reasons, the only Brazilian manufacturer of missiles and rockets, with years of history, highly qualified engineers and technicians, owner of several important projects, finds itself in serious difficulties. AVIBRAS is part of Brazil’s space and military history. Brazil needs missiles and rockets to guarantee its sovereignty, technology and national development. We don’t want to get involved in wars, but if we have to defend our wealth, we can’t be dependent, we can’t lose the ability to produce deterrent weapons. We cannot take a step backwards.
Therefore, our people must accept Brazil’s destiny of greatness before the nations. The conquests bequeathed to us by the Portuguese belong to all of us so that we can develop and enjoy them peacefully, responsibly, but sovereignly. If we want to guarantee the enjoyment of all this without being harassed by any external assailants, we need deterrence. It’s true that you can’t fight a war with missiles and rockets alone, but all the dual technology added by this type of weapon gives its holder a “solid” argument so that it can play “international geopolitical chess” with quality.
Maj Art CEZAR Augusto Rodrigues Lima Junior
Master in Military Operations from ESAO. He was an instructor at AMAN’s Artillery Course and at the Training and Improvement School for Officers of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. He was a member of the Fire Support Simulator Development Team. A specialist in Missile and Rocket Artillery, at Fort Santa Bárbara he was Subunit Commander and Doctrine Officer of the 6th GMF and Instructor and Head of the Teaching Division of the Missile and Rocket Artillery Instruction Center. He held the Command of the Army Artillery Command Battery at the same location. He is currently a student on the Command and General Staff Course at ECEME.