Brazilian army
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| guide | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander in Chief : |
President Jair Bolsonaro (since January 1, 2019) |
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| Defense Minister: | Fernando Azevedo e Silva | ||
| Military Commander: | Edson Leal Pujol | ||
| Headquarters: | Brasília | ||
| Military strength | |||
| Active soldiers: | 222,732 (2018) | ||
| Conscription: | Yes (for men over 18 years) | ||
| Eligibility for military service: | |||
| history | |||
| Founding: | 1822 | ||
| Factual foundation: | 1648 | ||
The Brazilian Army ( Exército Brasileiro in Portuguese ) is the largest part of the Brazilian armed forces with around 222,000 soldiers .
history
During the colonial period as Estado do Brasil and during the United Kingdom , Portuguese troops were present in Brazil. With the declaration of independence from Portugal in 1822, the Empire of Brazil set up its own army , the Imperial Brazilian Army ( Exército Imperial Brasileiro ). After the founding of the republic in 1889, it became part of today's army.
At the First World War, Brazil participated in 1917 after multiple merchant ships were sunk by German submarines. The use was limited mainly to control and naval operations in the South Atlantic . During the Second World War , the Brazilian army fought with a contingent of 25,700 men from September 1944 on the side of the Allies, mainly in the Mediterranean area , especially in Italy (see also Brazilian Expeditionary Corps in Europe ).
structure
The army has a total of 25 brigades , 19 of which are infantry and the remaining 6 armored or mechanized brigades. The country's geography requires the surveillance of a long border line and large unpopulated areas, which explains the emphasis on infantry. The inaccessibility of a large part of the border areas ( rainforest , mountains ) makes it possible to dispense with a strong armored weapon. The around 350 existing battle tanks (as well as a large part of the around 550 artillery pieces and the 1,100 armored vehicles) are now out of date. The Leopard 1 and the M60 still form the backbone of the armored force . The aim of this is to procure 240 upgraded Leopard 1A5s from the Bundeswehr . The EE-T1 Osório main battle tank developed by Engesa in the 1980s never got beyond the prototype status for financial reasons.
The vast rainforest areas of the country have made the Brazilian infantry specialize in jungle combat. Five army brigades are specially trained and equipped for this, and there is also a jungle combat school. Since 1957, Brazil has also had US- trained brigade-strength special forces . The army has around 80 helicopters, mostly from Airbus Helicopters .
Helicopter (as of end of 2010):
- 15 AS 350
- 8 AS 532
- 19 AS 550
- 34 AS 565
- 4 EC 725 in 2014, a total of 50 pieces are ordered for all armed forces.
- 4 S-70A , 6 ordered
See also
Web links
- Ministério da Defesa (Brazilian Portuguese)
- Exército Brasileiro (Brazilian Portuguese)
- Literature by and about the Brazilian Army in the WorldCat bibliographic database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Decreto n ° 9.249, de 26 dezembro do 2017. Distribui o efetivo de pessoal militar do Exército em tempo de paz para o ano de 2018. Presidência da República, Casa Civil, 26 December 2017, accessed on October 2, 2018 ( Brazilian Portuguese). Comment: Last official decree on the number of soldiers.
