Brazilian marines eye wheeled Assault Amphibious Vehicle fleet

The Brazilian marines received 23 AAV7A1 RAM/RS vehicles between 2017 and 2018. (Victor Manuel Saraiva Barreira)

The Brazilian Marine Corps is looking to acquire 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured vehicles in several variants to replace its fleet of AAV7A1 Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs), Vice Admiral Rogério Ramos Lage, Commander of the Marine Materiel Command, told Janes recently.

The project, part of the Marine Corps Combat Power Strategic Subprogram, would modernise the Amphibious Vehicles Battalion, Vice Adm Lage said in an October interview. The last of the current fleet of BAE Systems-designed AAV7A1 vehicles was delivered in 1997.

The marines have already laid out the High-Staff Requirements and High-Level Systems Requirements of the 8×8 project, and a preliminary study is being carried out, Vice Adm Lage said. Brazil is considering the 8×8 BAE Systems Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), among others, to meet its requirements, he added.

Between 1986 and 1997, 26 AAV7A1 vehicles – 22 troop carriers, two command vehicles, and two recovery vehicles – were delivered.

Brazil initially planned to acquire three additional AAV7A1 RAM/RS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard) AAVs (two AAVP7A1 RAM/RS personnel carriers and a single AAVC7A1 RAM/RS command vehicle) through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, but this effort was abandoned in 2022, officials told Janes .

Brazil has fielded 20 AAVP7A1 RAM/RS, two AAVC7A1 RAM/RS, and one AAVR7A1 RAM/RS vehicle, which were received between 2017 and 2018, according to a USD117.5 million FMS contract in 2014.