Eurosatory provided Iveco with the opportunity to deliver the first Guarani pre-series unit to the Brazilian Army at a ceremony with Alfredo Altavilla, Iveco CEO and General Sinclair James Mayer, head of the Brazilian Army’s Science and Technology Department.
The 6×6 Amphibious Armoured Vehicle, named Guarani by the Brazilian Army and also known as VBTP, has been developed by Iveco in partnership with the Science and Technology Department of the Brazilian Army.
This follows the signing of a contract in 2009 for the supply of 2,044 units of a new family of armoured personnel carriers. The vehicle will be produced in the new €23 million production unit in Sete Lagoas (Brazil), which is currently under construction and due for completion by the end of 2012. With an estimated production capacity of more than 100 units per year and deliveries scheduled for the next 20 years, the new plant will start serial production in 2013.
At the ceremony, it was also announced that the Brazilian Army has decided to entrust Iveco with the development of a new version of the Guarani armoured vehicle for use by the Brazilian Infantry. The initial Guarani project was produced for Cavalry applications only, with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of Brazilian land forces. A wide variety of configurations makes them very effective in fulfilling different roles including personnel carrier, reconnaissance and ambulance, therefore meeting the whole range of military needs and reinforcing the Army’s operational capability in the most demanding scenarios.
This new development project also acknowledges the trust that Iveco has gained with the Brazilian Army and also marks Iveco’s strength in building strong and durable relationships with its partners.
The Guarani is a family of 18-tonne armoured vehicles with amphibious capabilities. Powered by a FPT Industrial Cursor 9 engine with 383cv, 6×6 traction and automatic gearbox, it can carry a crew of up to 11 in several different configurations. External dimensions are 6.9 meters long, 2.7 meters wide and 2.3 meters high.
It can be equipped with different weapon systems and can be air-carried by a Hercules C-130 or a Embraer KC-390 type airplane.
The Guarani is designed to provide the basis for a family of vehicles capable of filling a multitude of roles. The adoption of a modular approach to product development provides a number of advantages such as product variety without un-necessary re-engineering (reducing timescales and costs), optimum combination of power, protection and payload and flexibility in operation and support through improved serviceability and ease of upgrade.
The use of COTS main assemblies (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) ensures outstanding levels of reliability and consequently excellent fleet availability, ease of maintenance and low whole life costs.
“There is potential for sales in several world markets”, says Paolo Del Noce, recently appointed as head of the project in Brazil. ”The Argentinean Army has already demonstrated its interest”.
Iveco Defence Vehicles is dedicated to delivering innovative automotive and protection solutions to meet the needs of military customers worldwide. The company manufactures specialist military logistic, protected and armoured vehicles in its facility in Bolzano in Northern Italy, as well as marketing Iveco’s full commercial range, adapted as necessary to meet the demands of the military user. In consequence, Iveco Defence Vehicles has a full range of vehicles to meet almost any defence application.
