EE-T1 Osório

The Engesa EE-T1 Osório was a Brazilian main battle tank prototype. It was developed as a privately funded venture by Engesa, with little government support. It was intended to be sold first to Arab and other Third World countries, jump-starting production — and enabling the Brazilian Army to later place its own orders without having to fund development costs. However macro-political events including the Gulf War and American political pressure led to the tank's demise, and the tank was never acquired by the Brazilian Army.

EE-T1 Osorio
Engesa EE-T1/T2 Osorio
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originBrazil
Service history
Used bySee Users
Production history
DesignerEngesa
Designed1982–86
ManufacturerEngesa
Unit cost$ 6,855,859.20 BRL,
($3,840,261.00 USD)
Produced1986
No. built2 prototypes
Specifications
Mass42.9 short tons (38.9 t; 38.3 long tons)
Length9.99 metres (32 ft 9 in)
Width3.26 metres (10 ft 8 in)
Height2.37 metres (7 ft 9 in)
Crew4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armorcomposite, including aluminum/steel, carbon fibers, and ceramics.
Main
armament
120 mm GIAT G1 smoothbore gun(P2),
105 mm L/52 L7 rifled gun(P1),
Secondary
armament
M2HB 12.7 mm machine gun x2
(coaxial and roof mounted)
Engine12-cylinder MWM TBD 234 Diesel engine
1,100 hp [1]
Power/weight26 hp/tonne
Suspensionhydropneumatic
Operational
range
550 km (340 mi) [1]
Maximum speed 70 km/h (43 mph)

Development

Development started in 1982 and the first prototype was completed in 1985.[1]

The EE-T1 was considered for service with the Saudi Arabian Army. It was evaluated against the French AMX 40, the American M1 Abrams, and the British Challenger 1 and emerged as the winner. The Osorio was quite cheap and affordable while having better results in the trials than the other three MBTs . In September 1989, Saudi Arabia quietly opted for the M1 Abrams instead and only announced its new decision shortly after Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait, triggering the Persian Gulf War.[2] The two only prototypes were given to the Brazilian Army as a result of Engesa going bankrupt.

Users

References
  1. Gelbart, Marsh (1996). Tanks main battle and light tanks. Brassey’s UK Ltd. pp. 13–14. ISBN 1-85753-168-X.
  2. Forças Terrestres
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