MAX 1.2 AC

The MSS-1.2's development is the Brazilian Army's answer to anti-tank missile technology. Portable anti-tank weapons grew in importance in the 20th century and remain a lucrative market in the 21st. In other countries they are mass-produced and offer lower cost and easier training than armored fighting vehicles, and may be used by light forces to offset their disadvantage against armored forces. Brazilian military literature recognizes anti-tank defense as a field in need of improvement, which, as of 2023, "lacks deeper study and employment"; "anti-tank capacity generation in Brazilian infantry is incomplete in its cycle of determinant factors: doctrine, organization, training, materiel, education, personnel and infrastructure", and since the 1980s, the Army "is out of sync with the period's global tendency, which has followed the pace of the arms race inherited from the Cold War." Consequently, as of 2019 Brazil "has fallen behind some of its South American neighbors in modern anti-tank defense assets". An anti-tank missile has greater range and lethality than such weapons. The Brazilian Army has tested missiles with ranges of up to 2,500 meters, and countries such as Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru use missiles with ranges above 4,000 meters, such as the SPIKE LR and TOW 2B. The first attempt to develop an anti-tank missile in Brazil was around 1958, at the Army Technical School (present-day Military Institute of Engineering), but the studies were abandoned in favor of the German Cobra missile. The "Cobra AC" was intensively tested by the Brazilian Army, but did not enter service. Starting from 1995 Brazil acquired the French Eryx and MILAN systems, of which 30 were still in service in 2008. In 2021 the Army acquired ten launchers and 100 missiles of the SPIKE LR2 system. After delays due to the Gaza war, the missiles arrived in 2024, with no sign of further batches. The small batch served merely to maintain capabilities after the MILAN was phased out of service. As of 2024, the Antitank Company Field Manual (EB70-MC-10.334) was still an experimental document. == Development ==

Oto Melara and Engesa One of many West European projects for defense against an armored invasion, the “Missile Anti-Carro della Fanteria” (MAF) began its development in Italy in the 1980s. The project was a private venture by Oto Melara, which left Officine Galileo in charge of guidance, Breda with the firing unit and SNIA-BPD with the engine and warhead. Engesa joined the programme as a co-developer and producer in 1986. In the same year, the Brazilian Army opened a bidding process for a locally-produced, medium-ranged anti-tank missile for its infantry units. The American TOW, Swedish BILL and the MAF were offered. The MAF was chosen in August, which led to an Italo-Brazilian technology transfer. The product was christened MSS-1.2 LEO in homage to Army minister Leônidas Pires Gonçalves. Órbita never produced missiles, Mectron The programme was transferred in October 1991 to the Brazilian Army and newly-created Mectron Engenharia. Military investment spending decreased in the 1990s, The 1999 the project's manager reported at the Military Journal of Science and Technology () on changes made since 1994 and the delivery target for 40 prototypes until August. Launches were made at the Marambaia Testing Range in July. Over time, the project was completely redesigned, leaving little resemblance with the original. In the following year, an International Institute for Strategic Studies journal argued the system would probably never enter production. From May to July 2015, CTEx and Mectron technicians made launches in Marambaia, "continuing the preparation for the pilot batch's assessment process". Mectron, which was by then part of Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia, signed a contract to "continue assessment tests for the pilot batch". The Brazilian programme had been going on for over 30 years. In the following year, the missile was nearing production, according to SIATT; technical evaluation of pre-series batches approached its final phase. "Afterwards, an operational assessment will take place, which is predicted to conclude in the first semester of 2024, with the product then being made available to a specific unit before general distribution to operational battalions". EDGE Group, a conglomerate from the United Arab Emirates, bought 50% of SIATT's capital in September 2023. InfoDefensa magazine described the missile as a "mature product", which is "available for mass production, so long as there's investment in a production line and supplier logistics to answer orders which might even come from the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces". SIATT hadn't yet established serial production and the Brazilian Army hadn't certified its final reports, and had hired SIATT to update 17 missiles from the pilot batch to its new specifications. == Introduction to service ==

The Brazilian Army anticipated the MSS 1.2's distribution in December 2023 by sending half of its stocks to Roraima, where they equipped the 7th Jungle Infantry Battalion and the newly-created 18th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment. Army General Staff representatives conferenced with SIATT's directors to negotiate a new order of around 200 missiles, which would equip units across the country. These measures were a result of the Guyana–Venezuela crisis and the lack of armaments fit to respond to the Venezuelan Army's T-72 tanks in the event of an intrusion into Brazilian territory. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had made comparable weapons hard to obtain on international markets. Test and evaluation report n. 052/24, which covers the MSS pilot batch, was finally homologated by the Army's Science and Technology Department on June 26. Wider adoption by the Army and serial production had yet to begin. SIATT's newly-expanded plant in São José dos Campos was expected to begin production in the near future. On September 26, SIATT and the Science and Technology Department signed a licensing, production and trading contract for the product. The ceremony formalized its new official name, "MAX 1.2 AC", in homage to Brazilian Expeditionary Force hero, sergeant Max Wolff Filho. In the Brazilian Marine Corps, the missile was delivered to infantry battalions in June 2025, replacing the RBS 56 BILL. == Characteristics ==

The MSS 1.2's main role is anti-tank, and it may also be used against casemates, small buildings and hovering helicopters. It consists of two systems, the Support Mode, composed of a simulator and testing equipment, and Employment Mode, composed of the launch tube, missile and firing unit, which is operated by two men, the gunner and loader. The missile and launch tube weigh 24 kg, with the firing unit contributing another 28 kg, The MSS 1.2 is transported by ground troops or vehicles, and may be airdropped. In Operation Saci 2020, the Parachute Infantry Brigade used a mockup to represent an anti-tank defensive position. Other possibilities are integration into a Chivunk 4x4 light vehicle, The guidance system uses a semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) method. Army tests deemed the missile acceptable for targets at a distance of up to 2,000 m, but the range reaches 3,000 m. As of October 2024, SIATT claims a range "above 2,000 meters". In 2002 engineer Elizabeth Koslova, in an analysis of the Brazilian missile program, criticized the MSS 1.2's weight/range ratio, blaming it on the laser guidance, which has a large fixed weight. Other missiles with the MSS 1.2's range use wire guidance, which is lighter. Laser-guided missiles typically dilute the fixed weight in other systems to achieve a greater range. The MAF's original Italian project justified its weight by being part of a missile family, one for the infantry and another for helicopters; the infantry version wouldn't be ideal, but it'd save on costs. The Brazilian Army, however, never wanted a helicopter version and its inexperience resulted in an expensive and complex programme to create only the infantry version, which was meant to be just "tolerable" enough to generate demand. The planned MSS 1.3 aims for a range of three kilometers, and its successor would have four kilometers as well as fire and forget guidance. Penetration Ammunition is of the high-explosive anti-tank type inside a shaped charge warhead. Measured in Rolled Homogeneous Armor equivalency, it penetrates, depending on the source, up to 500, 530, 580 or 800 millimeters. The Army Technological Center's official number is 530 mm. This penetration is small. Although superior to the MILAN ADT-ER's, it is inferior to that of the Javelin (750 mm), Spike ER (800 mm) and TOW (900 mm). These missiles use tandem charges, allowing them to face reactive armor. In 2021, a paper at the Officer Improvement School (, EsAO) compared the MSS 1.2 to other armament options for a hypothetical Anti-tank Squadron in a Mechanized Cavalry Brigade. The Brazilian system was considered inappropriate in its role, although useful for Anti-tank Sections in Mechanized Cavalry Regiments and equivalent units. The producer's experience, caliber (over 105 mm), night vision capacity, two-man crew, adaptability to vehicles, independence from auxiliary material, adaptability to Army doctrine, political convenience and cost were favorable variables within the study's criteria. Penetration in RHAe was deemed neutral as it was in the 400 to 600 mm range. Maximum range, lack of diversity in ammunition, guidance system (which isn't 4th or 5th generation) and absence of service experience were the unfavorable variables to its use. Future versions planned as of 2024 would raise penetration beyond 1,000 millimeters and improve the missile's effectiveness against reactive armor, according to SIATT. == Notes ==