EE-11 Urutu

During the early 1960s, Brazil's defense industry was negligible and limited largely to producing small arms or refurbishing obsolete US military equipment. Between 1964 and 1967 the Brazilian government launched a program to revitalize the arms industry in response to growing US reluctance to transfer modern defense technology otherwise needed for its own war effort in Vietnam. This would evolve into the EE-9 Cascavel, which was based on an upgraded Greyhound with a new engine and suspension features. The first CTTAs entered service with the Brazilian Army the following year as the EE-11 Urutu. By the late 1980s, both Libya and Iraq may have purchased hundreds of Urutus each, some of which were re-exported to other states and regional militant movements. In 1980, the US Army issued a requirement for a new wheeled armored vehicle for a proposed new mobile deployment force, able to bring to bear air-portable firepower in the event of a crisis in the Middle East or Asia. In response, Engesa proposed an Urutu with a large turret ring and the same 90 mm gun as its Cascavel counterpart; this hybrid vehicle was known as the Uruvel. At least one modified Urutu was delivered to the US for trials. If the US Army adopted the Uruvel, a little over half the vehicle's production would be undertaken in the US by the FMC Corporation. In anticipation of a successful bid, FMC even purchased licenses from Engesa to manufacture both the Urutu and the Cascavel, along with their associated parts. The program was shelved during the late 1980s, and the Uruvel was not adopted by any country except Tunisia, which ordered 12. Engesa experienced a financial crisis in the early 1990s which forced it to suspend all its production lines. By 1993 the firm had declared bankruptcy, and production of the Urutu was formally terminated. ==Service history==

Financial considerations and the perceived unreliability of the US as an external supplier of military equipment provided the impetus for the Urutu program's success with the Brazilian Army. Engesa had cultivated a close working relationship with army officials, and personal ties between that firm and the latter were instrumental in securing the initial contract for a new armored personnel carrier. Engesa was able to export Urutus widely on three continents. The domestic market was simply insufficient to support an armored vehicle industry, so export orders were perceived as helping achieve the economy of scale needed to make Engesa's operations viable. In 1973, Engesa unsuccessfully bid for a contract to develop a new wheeled infantry fighting vehicle for the South African Army. South Africa was the first foreign power to show an explicit interest in the Urutu and even tested a model optimized for southern African conditions as the Vlakvark. Engesa's largest success in the export market came in the 1970s from Libya, which ordered 200 Cascavels as part of an arms deal worth $100 million. To downplay the extent of overt Libyan involvement, the Urutus were typically stationed near FROLINAT posts and presented to the press as FROLINAT vehicles. Some were apparently restored to service by Libyan militias during the civil war and retrofitted with BM-11 multiple rocket launchers. The Urutu was deployed by both sides during the Iran–Iraq War. Most of the Iraqi Urutus were assigned to individual brigades of the Republican Guard during that conflict.{{cite web|title=Iraq: Major Weapons Deliveries and Their Impact on Force Capabilities|author=|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91T01115R000400300001-8.pdf|location=Langley ==Description==

The basic layout of all Urutu variants is the same: the driving compartment is located to the front left of the hull, with the engine compartment to the front right and the troop compartment to the immediate rear. The driver is provided with a hatch and three driving periscopes in the sharply angled vehicle glacis. Passengers may debark from doors on either side of the hull or from the rear; they are also afforded four emergency hatches in the hull roof. The troop compartment is fitted with vision blocks and firing ports as standard to allow passengers situational awareness while embarked. An Urutu's hull is composed of two distinct layers of welded ballistic steel able to resist point-blank small arms fire, including 7.62×39mm armor-piercing ammunition. The Urutu was fitted with a 12.7mm Browning M2 heavy machine gun as standard. The machine gun is operated by a gunner seated directly behind the driver in the left of the hull. In all late production models, the gunner's station is also provided with day/night sights with five power magnification and a stadiametric rangefinder. Some of the more common Urutu variants replaced the Browning heavy machine gun with a single turret or pintle-mounted 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun. Depending on the size of the turret ring, it was also possible to fit heavier turrets carrying gun-mortars or low-pressure cannon for direct fire support. Transmission consists of an Allison MT-643 automatic gearbox with five forward and one reverse gear ratios. Early Brazilian Army Urutus used either a Clark manually operated gearbox with the same gear pattern or a manual Mercedes-Benz 63/40 gearbox. The Urutu has an independent double wishbone suspension for its front wheels, but the rear two axles are fitted with a unique boomerang type walking beam suspension with semi-elliptical springs. External Urutus had a very distinct hull with a sharply angled glacis; the front of the hull slopes back to just forward of the rear wheels at 60°. The hull sides are vertical until halfway to the roof line, at which point they slope slightly inwards. Hull doors are visible to the rear of the first wheel station on either side of the vehicle, although the final production run of Urutus produced by Engesa eliminated the door on the right to create a more spacious engine compartment. ==Variants==

Production marks • Urutu Mk I: First production model to enter service with the Brazilian Army in 1975. Powered by a 174 hp (130 kW) Mercedes-Benz engine with a manual Clark transmission. This variant was developed for the United Arab Emirates; it could also be fitted with MILAN anti-tank guided missiles as needed. • EE-11 Cargo Transporter: Urutu designed as a general transporter for hauling or towing heavy loads. This variant had an internal load capacity of up to 2,000 kg. • EE-11 Command and Control: Urutu modified to carry additional radio equipment. • EE-11 Air Defense: Urutu carrying twin 20 mm autocannon in a French-designed Electronique Serge Dassault TA20/RA20 turret. • 60mm mortar:An version that carry an 60mm mortar, that haver HE, HEAT And others munitions, the direct fire range is 300m and indirect fire 2,600m, he have an option of an 7.62 with 1.200 munitions or an .50 with 600 munitions(he have only one prototype only with the 60 mortar) There were also Urutu prototypes modified to carry turrets armed with twin general-purpose machine guns, twin heavy machine guns, a single HS804 20 mm autocannon. Colombian derivatives During the early 1990s, Colombia began seeking a domestically produced replacement for its Urutu fleet. The decision to acquire a uniquely Colombian armored personnel carrier was made because it saved hard currency and promoted local industry; with Engesa's closure, Colombian officials were also concerned that parts for the Urutu series would become increasingly scarce and expensive to source in the future.{{cite web|title=Um Urutu Simplificado "Made in Colombia" Aymara 4x4 – Transporte de Tropas|last=Bastos|first=Carlos Stephani|url=http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/fts/Aymara.pdf|location=Juiz de Fora The Colombian Urutu derivatives shared the same transmission, electrical system, and engine of the baseline Urutu but utilized a four-wheeled chassis which eliminated the vehicle's articulated boomerang suspension. Their hulls were externally identical to that of the Urutu, retaining the same hatch and door configuration; however, the interior dimensions were different. For example, the engine compartment of the Aymara was located in the center of the hull rather than at the front and to the right like the Urutu. The prototypes were all at least five tonnes heavier than the standard Urutu and lacked amphibious capability. ==Operators==

Current operators in 2016. • : 24 • : 56 • 24 • • : 82 • : 29 • : 38 • : 7 Former operators • : 37 ==References==