Brazil looks to Russia

Brazil needs to upgrade its ground-based air defenses, and has chosen Russian equipment to do so.

Protecting the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is very much on Brazil’s mind, and so is improving anti-aircraft defenses beyond the current stock of SA-18 Igla shoulder-fired missiles and Gepard mobile anti-aircraft guns.

What they’re buying won’t give them anything close to a comprehensive IADS system, but it will upgrade their mobile and short-range options.

Brazil’s Choices

SA-24 Igla-S: An upgraded version of the SA-18, with a proximity fuze and other enhancements. It can be carried and fired by troops in the field, or mounted on vehicles or helicopters using Strelets 4-missile launchers.

SA-22 Pantsir S1: Designed for mobile low-level air defense, it can be mounted on trucks, wheeled armored vehicles, and tracked vehicles. It combines twin 30 mm guns with 12 57E6 radar-guided surface-to-air missiles that reach out to 12 km/ 10 miles, and up to 10,000 m altitude. Sensors include targeting and tracking radars, with an electro-optical system for passive scanning.