An inspiring display for war cars,
By Paulo Roberto Bastos Jr
The South American situation in terms of armored forces dealt with already local obsolescence, how the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 greatly worsened this situation and affected all countries in the region.
Brazil, Chile and ArgentinaShips with significant warships of German origin face chronic shortages of parts and spare parts. Marter and derivatives such as MBT Leopard 1 y 2.
Austrian SK-105Most of the best selling on the continent are end-of-operator, modified models AMX-13 and derivatives. Old T-55 Different versions, usually adapted with Israeli technology, are in the process of being completely phased out due to lack of parts and materials. Some countries have actual working monuments, if they work.
Emergency measures such as nationalization of critical components (if possible) and/or procuring common consumables in the international market are used to curb the exponential increase in unavailability of these combat vehicles.
Modernization plans for the platforms are still underway TAM 2CA2 In Argentina, or Leopard 1A5 In Brazil, they have been suspended. In the case EAAll the technologies in the war with the terrorist group are provided by Israel Hamas As of early October, the status of customer support involvement of the Israeli companies responsible for supplying the sensors and related systems remains unknown.
In the Brazilian case, the situation is even more complicated since the agreement with KMW It is approaching its end (2027) and the unavailability of the fleet has greatly increased due to chronic shortage of parts and spare parts in the international market during the period 2022/2023. In an anticlimax, EB announced that it had abandoned modernization Leopard 1A5Focuses its actions on keeping at least part of the fleet in working and combat conditions until 2035.
The nominal documentary situation is based on South American countries with armored vehicles entering the Special Zone, starting in alphabetical order. Argentina232 has been produced TAM VC Currently about 220 in stock (plus 198 in other versions). There is a modernization project initiated with an Israeli company IMI (Now managed Elbit systems) is marked TAM 2CIts prototype was presented in 2013. In June 2015 it was announced that the modernization of 74 units had been contracted.
In May of the same year, the first prototype was called TAM 2CA2. EA has also deployed about 100 tank destroyers SK-105 Cruiser y 4 Flatten (Tower AMX-13 On the chassis SK-105 – canceled project), but these armored vehicles perform the fire support function in mechanized brigades.
For its part, Bolivia has 54 tankats SK-105A1 Kurassier In inventory, it has never undergone the modernization process and little is known about their functionality and availability.
Brazil has 220 Leopard 1A5BR42 Leopard 1A1 BR (Leopard 1BEy 35 M60A3 TTS. Los leopard —ex-Belgian or ex-German—are in very poor operating condition due to lack of spare parts (especially 1A1) and the modernization process 1A5 The German contract was canceled due to lack of spare parts on the international market. Despite these restrictions, Brazil announced in October that it would authorize nationalized practice ammunition. 105 mm (blue node), which will allow the crew to continue training.
Los M-60 A3 TTS Not modernized and less available, like leopardand used in the Mid-West Frontier Agulhas Negras Military Academy and in Armored Training Center. Although it does not come within the scope of the Special Report, the Marines (CFN) There are 17 examples of tank destroyers SK-105A2S KurassierBut its level of operation is critical, four to five vehicles for immediate use, even for short periods.
On the other hand, Chile has 136 cc Leopard 2A4CH, A slightly modified version introduced locally by a Chilean company reports. Due to the lack of spare parts due to the war in Ukraine, these vehicles face the same problems as their Brazilian counterparts. In July this year, Fame announced a partnership with the Turkish company Asselson Efforts should be made to make recovery and maintenance of these vehicles feasible.
as EcuadorIts ground troops stand in a hundred rows Companies AMX-13/105Equipped with a French cannon 105 mm and low latency (like SK-105 A2S Brazilian). PeruThere are about 200 of them T-54/T-55 cc, has been trying to modernize or replace its fleet for 30 years. has evaluated the possibility of Norinco MBT-2000 (VT1) In 2009, China and the T-90S Russian in 2013, but none of these efforts were successful. It is currently prioritizing its re-equipment with wheeled armored vehicles 8×8.
Supposedly a nation with a large armored force, at least on paper, Venezuela There are 92 T-72B1V Russians and 82 AMX-30B/V, but its operational capability is unknown due to lack of official information. It was announced in 2014 AMX-30 will be restored and modernized by Chemablinto be invited AMX-30VEBut it is unclear how many people were put through the process through official channels and what the extent of the work was.
In the case Uruguay15 combat vehicles are in stock, prioritizing the acquisition of military equipment through donations from allied nations. Ti-67 Tiran 5 (T-55 Modified and cannon mounted in Israel 105 mm), and 22 light combat vehicles M41A1 Watch y 15 M41C COXIAS, donated by Brazil. All of them can be considered obsolete.
