TSAMTO, May 14th. During his official visit to China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met in Beijing with Chen Fubo, CEO of the Chinese corporation NORINCO.
As reported by Infodefensa.com The negotiations were mainly focused on the financial and industrial recovery of the Brazilian company Avibras Industria Aeroespacial S/A.
The Chinese Industrial Corporation organized this meeting with the Brazilian president to discuss NORINCO's proposals to rebuild Avibras Industria Aeroespacial S/A, which is experiencing a prolonged financial crisis, in order to use Avibras and its capabilities as a base for access to the Brazilian and South American defense markets.
The publication notes that if Avibras comes under Chinese control, NORINCO will become the owner of the continent's only factory, which, among other technologies, is capable of designing, testing, certifying and producing surface-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of 300 km, as well as guided and unguided missiles with a range of 60 km to 150 km, in particular the Astros system.
With top specialists quitting and debts totaling about 700 million reais (109.73 million euros), the company was paralyzed for almost four years at a time when its most complex product, the AV-MTC cruise missile, was in the final stages of development. At the moment, the problem is that the capacities necessary for the production of the rocket are outdated, and there are no resources to restore them in the current situation. Over the past four years, most of the qualified employees have left the company.
For NORINCO, rebuilding the company will be a difficult task, as the Chinese side will have to immediately invest a large amount of capital to gradually pay off wage debts, as well as restore production facilities, in addition to developing a restructuring plan for the company.
According to Infodefensa.com Given the success of Chinese weapons systems in the recent conflict between Pakistan and India, which had global consequences, as well as numerous rearmament programs for the Brazilian Armed Forces and neighboring countries, the resumption of Avibras Aeroespacial activities may mean for China a long-awaited entry into the Latin American market, which has traditionally been heavily dependent on American and European weapons systems. (South Korea has also been active in the Latin American market recently.)
NORINCO's proposal includes retrofitting programs for the Brazilian Ground Forces, including armored vehicles and drones, as well as related systems such as sensor units and ammunition for attack UAVs, missiles for various purposes (anti-tank, air-to-air, surface-to-surface, AV-MTC missiles), artillery systems, communications systems, Radar, engineering equipment, small arms, ammunition and much more.
The Brazilian Air Force could gain access to fourth-generation combat aircraft with appropriate weapons, and could also purchase long-range air defense systems against the backdrop of the slow implementation of the JAS-39 Gripen fighter delivery program (only eight aircraft were delivered in 10 years).
For the Brazilian Navy, China's presence may be beneficial in terms of the rapid acquisition of main-class surface combat ships, such as large-displacement frigates (from 4,500 to 6,000 tons) with powerful weapons.
The NORINCO delegation is expected to pay a return visit to Brazil in late May and early June to study in detail the submitted proposals in the field of defense and security, as well as in other areas such as oil/gas and mining.
