Brazil News
| ARLINGTON, Virginia – BAE Systems, a multi-national defense contractor, announced today a new contract with the Brazilian Army worth $41.9 million USD. The company said that, in partnership with the Brazilian Army, they will upgrade 150 M113B armored personnel carriers to the M113A2 Mk1 configuration.
M113 Modernization Project (Photo: forte.jor.br)
According to the company, under the terms of the (R$77,6 million BRL) contract, the vehicle hulls, hatches and ramps will be reused while all other components, including the engines, transmissions and cooling systems will be replaced or upgraded. BAE Systems will provide the materials needed to perform the upgrade work as well as tooling and spares. The company will also transfer technology and train the Brazilian Army on the upgrade and maintenance of the vehicles.
“This low cost upgrade work provides several benefits to the Brazilian Army including, improved vehicle performance and reliability,” said Joe McCarthy, vice president and general manager of Combat Vehicles at BAE Systems. “We have been exporting and doing upgrade work on M113s for decades. The Brazilian Army acquired the M113s from the U.S. Army in the early 1970s. This overhaul and upgrade program will modernize the vehicles and extend their service significantly, bring the vehicles in line with Brazil’s national defense strategy and help increase their defense capabilities.”
The work under this contract will be performed at the Brazil Army Depot in Curitiba, Brazil and is expected to be complete by November 2014.
The M113 is part of the largest family of armored tracked vehicles in the world and includes more than 80,000 vehicles worldwide with 40 variants. It can transport 12 troops plus a driver and is capable of amphibious operation, extended cross-country travel over rough terrain and high-speed operation on improved roads and highways.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Brazilian online news source(s) for this article: baesystems.com/
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