As the national military establishments in Latin America try to shake off their dependence from the United States, they increasingly turn to arms made in Russia. The biggest Russian arms customer in the region is Brazil.
The arms trade with Brazil is governed by a bilateral agreement signed in 2008.
Mr Viktor Baranets is a defence analyst of the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily:
"Six years ago, Russia’s arms sales to Brazil amounted to just $400mln each year. Today, the figure is close to $1.2bln. Joint arms production is also picking up. Brazilian companies are already assembling the Russian-designed Mi-35 and Mi-171 helicopter gunships. In the latest development in this way, Brazil has announced plans to procure Igla shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft artillery-cum-missile batteries. This battery is a precision weapon capable of locking on multiple targets at distances of up to 25 kilometers."
Dr Vladimir Litovkin is Editor-in-Chief of the Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozrenie journal:
"Brazil is a major industrial power and the only thing it lacks in its defence industry sector is modern technologies. Russia is prepared to sell or lease out such technologies, enabling Brazil to assemble Pantsir batteries and Sukhoi-35 jet fighters."
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