During the PT government, the Army spent R$1.27 billion on the purchase of missiles that combat cars and on the acquisition of armored tanks with amphibious capabilities and longer-range cannons, with the aim that “land forces are prepared to face contemporary and future threats”.
The data was provided to Sheet by the Army based on a request via .
The purchases of 220 anti-tank missiles, at a cost of R$153.8 million, took place in 2025. They involved two batches: one of 100 FGM-148F Javelin missiles, based on an agreement between the Army Commission in Washington and the United States government, and another of 120 1.2 AC Max missiles, the result of a contract for manufacturing by a company in São José dos Campos (SP).
The report questioned, in the request via LAI, the motivation for purchasing this new weaponry. The objective, in the case of missiles, is “to improve the deterrence capacity of the Brazilian Army”. “Obtaining collective anti-tank armament is crucial to strengthening the line of defense in ground combat operations,” said the Force.
The Army also cited the , which has lasted more than four years, and the conflicts in Palestine, the target of Israeli offensives.
“Recent experiences observed in the war in Ukraine have demonstrated the importance of effective anti-tank systems in defending against armored advances,” he said. “Ukrainian forces, using portable anti-tank missiles, managed to detain and neutralize armored columns, causing significant casualties to the aggressors.”
In the request via LAI, the report questioned whether missiles and armored tanks with similar specifications had been acquired before 2023. The Army reported a single purchase, made in 2021, of 100 Israeli-made Spike LR2 portable anti-tank missiles.
“In , the use of anti-tank weapons has been an effective tactic to resist superior mechanized forces, demonstrating the importance of such weapons for forces operating in urban and irregular environments,” the Army stated.
In the case of armored tanks, 163 cars were acquired between 2023 and 2026, the vast majority of which were the VBTP (armored personal transport vehicle) MSR 6×6 Guarani model. Expenses totaled R$1.12 billion, according to Army data.
Military personnel who closely followed the decision-making regarding these purchases, within the program called Armored Forces, state that the main motivator for the initiative was the .
At the end of 2023, the dictator moved to take over part of Guyana – the Essequibo region. The offensives continued in 2024, and such an action would involve the invasion of Venezuelan troops into Brazilian territory. Brazilian intelligence sectors even detected the possibility of Maduro commanding an invasion of Guyana by land.
This took the Brazilian women to , a border region with .
From that moment on, the understanding among military personnel with decision-making power was that Brazil needed more powerful equipment, especially for land offensives, due to the military strength of the Venezuelans, who operated Russian cars, according to this reading.
Since the Essequibo crisis, the scenario has changed radically. In the first days of this year, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered a military attack in Caracas – in an unprecedented intervention against – and took him to New York to be tried for alleged crimes related to drug trafficking.
In light of the offensive, Lula expressed concern about what had happened in the neighboring country and asked the military to read scenarios about Brazil’s vulnerabilities in the face of an attack of this type, as published in February.
On Monday (9), during a visit by the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to Brasília, Lula expressed the situation along the lines of what occurred in Venezuela.
“Here, in South America, we position ourselves as a region of peace, here no one has a nuclear bomb,” said the Brazilian. “I don’t know if comrade Ramaphosa realizes that if we don’t prepare ourselves in terms of defense, one day someone will invade us.”
On Thursday (12), the Lula government expressed its opposition to a visit by a Trump advisor to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in prison. According to a statement by Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Darren Beattie’s visit to Bolsonaro would mean “interference in the internal affairs of the Brazilian State”.
The crisis escalated and, on Friday (13), Itamaraty announced that it had revoked Beattie’s visa due to “omission and falsification of information” about the reason for the visit.
In the request for information to the Army, made through LAI, the report requested the geographic distribution, by battalion and state, of the weapons acquired. The Force denied providing the data, even after an appeal against the decision. “The request seeks national defense information, compromising the protection that must be guaranteed to State secrecy,” he stated.
The information could put national defense and sovereignty at risk and harm strategic operations of the Armed Forces, according to the Army’s response.
The Army itself has already announced that part of the equipment was sent to units in Roraima and to the 1st Mechanized Antitank Company, in Osasco (SP). Missile tests have already been carried out in Rio, and brigades in Paraná received armored tanks.
The supply of the 1.2 AC Max missiles is made by the company SIATT Engenharia, Indústria e Comércio, based in São José dos Campos. There are contracts signed with the Army between 2019 and 2025.
The manufacture of Guarani armored vehicles, in the new configuration defined by the Army, is in charge of IDV Brasil, located in Sete Lagoas (MG). A single contract has a value of R$7.5 billion, referring to the acquisition of hundreds of armored vehicles by the Force until 2040.
The missile manufactured in Brazil is medium range and consists of ammunition and firing unit. This unit emits a coded invisible laser, harmonized with the sight, which guides the missile during flight.
The Guarani 6×6 armored vehicle can move on different terrains and in water. It weighs 18 tons and reaches 110 km/h, with a range of 600 km.
