Brazil Grows its Piranha-III Vehicle Fleet

Piranha-IIIC
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For most of the Cold War, peacekeeping deployments were generally seen as second-string efforts that could get by with less protection. That has begun to change. These days, international deployments have become a spur for many countries to invest in better equipment, from mine-resistant vehicles and armored personnel carriers to main battle tanks.

In September 2006, Brazil bought 5 Piranha-III 8×8 wheeled APCs and an armored recovery variant, in order to support its Marines during their peacekeeping mission in Haiti. A December 2007 order added 6 more APCs. In November 2008, General Dynamics MOWAG of Switzerland announced that Brazil was growing its Piranha-III fleet to 30 vehicles. The next 18 vehicle tranche will be delivered in 3 amphibious configurations: APC, Ambulance and C2 Command. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2010, and “will be used primarily within the framework of international United Nations mission of the Brazilian Marines in Haiti and will be seen in other UN missions in the future.”

The Piranha-III is known as the LAV-III in North America. It serves with the Canadian Forces, and with the US Army as the base for the Stryker family of vehicles. The US Marine Corps also operates LAVs, but these are an earlier model, and their MPC competition is expected to replace these older LAVs with a new vehicle fleet. Other contenders have already announced (Patria AMV | BAE SEP) and General Dynamics is surely thinking of MPC as it announces this order for Brazil’s Marines.