Image source: topwar.ru
The Brazilian army has signed a contract worth about €73.5 million with the CIO consortium for the supply of seven so-called Centauro II BR 8x8 tank destroyers. This is the first serial installation batch (two copies were previously ordered), which was purchased for conducting military tests and testing military doctrine. In total, 98 Centauro II units are planned to be purchased under the strategic program (for a total amount of about 900 million euros), with the possibility of expanding the portfolio to 221 vehicles.
The new technology is designed to replace locally produced EE-9 Cascavel 6x6 armored vehicles, which have been in service with Brazilian mechanized units since the 1970s and are obsolete.
When forming the contract, the command proceeded from the fact that Brazil is a huge country in terms of area. Tracked tank formations are slowly being deployed over long distances and spoil the road surface. At the same time, the wheeled Centauro II can reach speeds of up to 105 km/h on the highway and has a range of more than 800 km, allowing you to quickly concentrate firepower in the desired direction.:
Image source: topwar.ru
The program, designed to equip 14 squadrons of mechanized cavalry, provides for localization of production at the level of 70%, starting with the fifth batch, at the IDV plant in Seti Lagoas.
If the military tests are successfully completed and 98 vehicles are purchased, they will first be delivered to mechanized brigades in the south and southeast of the country, where the landscape is plains and hills, ideal for the operation of high-terrain wheeled armored vehicles.
The Centauro II was developed by the Italian concern Iveco-OTO Melara in the 2010s based on the B1 Centauro armored car and entered service with the Italian army in 2020. Brazil became the second operator of this product.
