Brazil disqualifies three contenders from the VBC Cav-MSR competition

The Brazilian Army announced on 30 September that CLS Automotive Technologies, Elbit Systems Land and Tata Advanced Systems were disqualified from the VBC Cav-MSR competition.

Although the document released by the army did not disclose details about the elimination, it mentioned that the proposals have not met the requirements of the bidding notice.

The shortlist of companies and platforms that will progress in the tender will be published on 7 October.

The army issued an RfP for the acquisition of 98 new 8x8 medium wheeled armoured reconnaissance vehicles on 20 July.

The first batch of two vehicles is expected to be delivered in January 2023, with the remaining platforms following in a 15-year period.

The new systems will replace part of its ageing fleet of EE-9 Cascavel. Shephard Defence Insight notes that Cascavel was originally developed and manufactured by Brazilian company Engesa in the early 1970s.

The supplier went bankrupt in 1993. Since then, the access to spare parts has been hampering the operation of these vehicles which makes the procurement of a family of medium wheeled armoured vehicles a priority for the Brazilian Army.