Brazilian Army is evaluating Indian Air Defence missile systems for Acquisition

The Brazilian Army had issued a Request for Quote (RFQ) in Nov 23 to research the prices of medium-altitude air defence systems available in national and international markets. In February 2024, a second RFQ was made to gather additional information.

Till now it was thought that the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) was responsible for high-altitude air defence systems, and the Army required only a short and medium-range air defence projects.

During a public hearing at the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defence (CREDN) of the Chamber of Deputies in April this year, Army Commander General Tomás Miguel Paiva expressed concern about the absence of medium and high-altitude air defence systems in the country.

In his initial presentation at the CREDN, the military official stated that Brazil is “relatively protected” up to 3,000 meters in altitude but lacks more sophisticated technologies for national territory protection. He later told the deputies that he intended to suggest to the Ministry of Defence a “government-to-government” agreement with India to acquire the medium-range Akash anti-aircraft missile.

Next month, the Army Commander will officially visit China for ten days to evaluate the competencies of the local defence industrial base and discuss opportunities for bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Army’s strategic programs.

An Army delegation visited China in the second half of last year. During that visit, the group had the opportunity to witness a live-fire demonstration of the DK-10 medium-altitude surface-to-air missile system—also known as Sky Dragon 50 or Tianlong-50—and the SH15 self-propelled howitzer.