Defense and security to have US$ 30 billion in investments
Folha de S. Paulo
The needs of the Brazilian Armed Forces and Police for the purchase and modernization of equipment are estimated at something between US$ 30 billion and US$ 35 billion. Notwithstanding great projects, such as the purchase of 36 new fighters of the F-X program, have again been postponed, the 2014 FIFA World Cup will require US$ 2.8 billion in security spending; the 2016 Olympics, another US$ 1.4 billion. Many of the companies operate in both the civil and military sector, such as in communication systems, monitoring equipment, air traffic control and other areas of transport infrastructure.
The 2011 Laad (Latin America Aero & Defence 2011), held from the 12 to 15 of this month in Rio, has doubled in size. The first show in 1997, had six official foreign delegations, 30 exhibitors and received 3,900 visitors. The last broke records: 663 exhibitors from 40 countries and more than 25 thousand visitors. And an even clearer reflex is the season of mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and association of Brazilian and foreign companies.
Symbolically, the aircraft manufacturer Embraer created, in 2010, Embraer Defesa e Segurança (defense and security). The company started a partnership with Atech Negócios em Tecnologias to take part in products and services in the area of systems of command, control, computers, communications and intelligence. Embraer Defesa e Segurança acquired 50% of the share capital of Atech for R$ 36 million (US$ 22.5 million). Atech took part in the System of Surveillance and Protection of the Amazon (Sivam and Sipam), in the airspace management and it integrated the mission systems of the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
Embraer Defesa e Segurança also signed an agreement with AEL Sistemas (a subsidiary of the Israeli Elbit Systems) to explore, together, the market of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Those remote controlled airplanes can be used for border surveillance. A veteran in the area of defense, Avibrás, presented a UAV prototype, the Falcon, at the Laad. OrbiSat, specialized in the remote sensing and radars for aerial and ground surveillance, sold its areas of defense and remote sensing to Embraer Defesa e Segurança.