MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's defense industry overseas sales on the rise; two aircraft are proven successes

Embraer success with its KC-390 Millennium transport and the A-29 Super Tucano turbine fighter planes, totally designed and manufactured in Brazil

Brazil's defense industry is going from success to success which has materialized in record sales of US$ 1,47billion in seven months of 2024 which is higher than the whole of 2023, not a bad year with overall sales of US$ 1,5 billion.

 The Brazilian aircraft factory Embraer, with its KC-390 Millennium transport and the A-29 Super Tucano turbine fighter planes, totally designed and manufactures in the country are two of the aircraft are among the most exported items. In effect so far this year some US$ 500 million has been generated from exports. United States, Denmark, Hungary, and Portugal are the leading importers for the KC-390. Uruguay also recently purchased several A-29 Super Tucano, fighters.

Brazil’s Defense Industrial Base (BID) is composed of a network of companies, both state-owned and private, involved in various production stages, including research, design, development, manufacturing, distribution, and maintenance of strategic defense products.

The products, which encompass goods and services, play a critical role in achieving Brazil's security and defense objectives. “Exports promote international cooperation and integration, attract foreign investment, and retain talent within the country”, said Heraldo Luiz Rodrigues, National Secretary of Defense Products, states, “The figures indicate economic development, increased competitiveness, and the strengthening of our Defense Industrial Base.”

The Ministry of Defense currently has a registry of 235 companies that are part of the BID. Brazil’s portfolio includes more than 1,700 high-tech products, such as aircraft, vessels, cyber-security solutions for data protection, radar systems, secure communication systems, and weaponry. In total, the sector employs nearly 3 million people, both directly and indirectly.

The Brazilian government has made tremendous progress through initiatives including bilateral meetings, technical personnel visits to industrial bases, coordinating military industry dialogues, commercial promotion, and participation in national and international trade shows.

According to Roberto Gallo, president of the Brazilian Association of Defense and Security Material Industries (Abimde), the success results from a strategic joint effort that has been ongoing for about ten years.

“What we’re selling today is the result of a strategic defense process that has been ongoing for at least a decade, as the products need to be tested,” he says, adding that this performance opens the door for Brazil to once again become one of the world’s largest exporters of defense systems.

Although very much at the end of the list, Brazil figures among the world's twenty five leading exporters of arms, according to SPPRI.