VBTP-MR Guarani IVECO Defence Vehicles

6x6 wheeled armored personnel carrier vehicle - Brazil/Italy

In December 2007 between IVECO L.A. and the Brazilian MOD to co-develop a project which has been called Wheeled Medium Armoured Personnel Carrier– Basic Platform (VBTP-MR). The project will be supported by IVECO Defence Vehicles, situated in Northern Italy, which is dedicated to designing and manufacturing vehicles for military applications. With this support, the VBTP-MR vehicle will be developed and manufactured at IVECO LA’ Sete Lagoas plant in Minas Gerais (Brazil). The prototype of the new Brazilian 6x6 armored personnel carrier (VBTP-MR ) will be delivered by the end of 2009 and will be extensively tested by the Brazilian Army starting from April 2010. The vehicles will then replace the EE-11 Urutu VBTP-MR fleet currently in use by the Brazilian Army. The first 16 vehicles will be manufactured principally using imported components, but local content will be gradually increased to over 60% in order to reduce production and maintenance costs. IVECO believes that this can be achieved through the integration of its growing supplier base in Brazil, where the company produces around 15.000 trucks per year plus diesel engines. Pietro Borgo, General Manager of IVECO Defence Vehicles, stated “The aim of the project is to develop a highly specialized knowledge base in military vehicles at IVECO LA and to establish an IVECO Defence Vehicles presence in Brazil which can become a partner for the Brazilian Army.” IVECO’s new VBTP-MR is an 18-tonne vehicle, with an amphibious capacity of 17.5 tonnes, and can carry a crew of 10 dismounts plus the driver. Outline specifications include a length of 6.9 m, a 2.7 m width, and a height of 2.34 m.
The Brazilian Army and the Business unit Iveco Latin America had signed this, 18 of December, an agreement for the manufacture of 2.044 units of the basic model of the new family of wheeled armored vehicle VBTP-MR (Vehicles Armored for the Transport of Pessoal Médio Sobre Rodas). This vehicle will replace the old armored vehicle Urutu used today by the Brazilian Armed Forces. The contract has a value of 6 $ billion over 20 years. The manufacture of the first units should begin in 2012, to finish in 2030. In October, we have published news to announce Argentine could be interested to acquire Guarani 6x6 armored vehicles developed by the Italian Company IVECO and manufactured in Brazil. In November 2020, it was announced that the Philippine army to purchase 28 Guarani 6 × 6 wheeled APCs for the amount of approximately USD 47 million.

Variants VBTP-MR Guarani:

Variants of the Guarani to include ambulance, C2, command post, fire direction, maintenance, mortar carrier, and repair/recovery vehicles.

a