The Ministry of Defense sent to Russia last week a group of nine officials from the Navy, the Army and the Air Force for the evaluation of the Pantsir-S1 air defense system. The event is to be held as part of negotiations under the Brazil-Russia Military and Technical Cooperation Deal.
The delegation is to stay in Russia for nine days. In this period, the military will visit the city of Tula, 200 km away from Moscow, in order to see the system in operation in a testing field and collect data for a report that will serve to decide if the acquisition of three Pantsir-S1 systems may be included in the deal’s contract phase.
In the view of Brigade General Gérson Machado, head of the delegation, the monitoring must be carried out meticulously because the deal lays down the conditions of the unlimited transference of technology. “There are many variables to be taken into account. One cannot analyze everything after a single test,” said Machado.
According to the Ministry, the acquisition of the Pantsir-S1 system aims to meet the need of the Armed Forces for a medium-height anti-aircraft system, to be used for shooting down targets flying at 10 km or higher.
When brought into operation, the systems are expected to protect strategic military and civil structures, among them hydroelectric power plants and nuclear facilities. The employment of anti-aircraft batteries will be placed under the responsibility of the Brazilian Air Defense Command (Comdabra).
The agreements made by the two nations on national defense started in 2008, when the Military and Technical Cooperation Deal was signed. In December 2012, the relations between the countries were brought under the norms put forth by the Action Plan for Strategic Partnership, which defines the terms of long-term cooperation in industry and technology exchange.
