Article Posted on : - Dec 21, 2009

A model of VBTP-MR armored personnel carrier.

ITALY (BNS): Brazilian army has awarded Fiat's commercial vehicles unit Iveco Latin America a $ 3.37 billion deal for the procurement of 2,044 VBTP-MR armoured personnel carriers.

According to Iveco news release, the production of the vehicles in Brazil will start in 2012 and will be completed by 2030.

The contract is valued at 6 billion Brazilian Reais (about $ 3.37 billion) over 20 years.

The VBTP-MR armoured personnel carrier is jointly developed by Italian Iveco and Brazilian MoD. The armoured vehicles will replace the previous EE-11 Urutu model, developed by Engesa, a Brazilian company, in the 1970s.

The VBTP-MR with its modern battlefield management systems provides protection against small arms fire, artillery shell splinters and also landmines. The advanced battlefield management system is used for navigation, positioning, mission planning. It is capable of carrying a crew of 11 soldiers.

The VBTP-MR armoured vehicle will increase the effectiveness of the land forces, increasing capacity to act in several missions where the use of this type of vehicle is suitable, with different settings (personnel carrier, reconnaissance, rescue, ambulance, etc.) to meet various operational needs.