Tanks Chats #121 | Cascavel | The Tank Museum

The Tank Museum's Curator David Willey presents a Tank Chat on the EE-9 Cascavel, a Brazilian Armoured Car developed during the 1970s, primarily for reconnaissance. David also touches upon the EE-11 Urutu, which shares many of the Cascavel's components. Join him to find out more.
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[ddraig]

The Cascavel seems to conform perfectly to the design philosophy of make it simple, make it tough and make it work.

[fellowketchup]

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of tank chats

[bentocaldeiraribeiro]

as the son of the founder of ENGESA, it is an honor to know that the company's legacy is part of the museum.

[DorosAngeli]

Hello from Cyprus . 1984 to 1986 i was a sergeant in a tank unit .. we had about 50 Cascavels in my unit and if i remember corectly we had about 150 Cascavels in different units in the island, i drove them.. shoot with all the weapons . excelent tank.. we also had the Jaracaca which is an Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle also made in Brazil

[nathanm]

I served on a Cascavel Tank in the Cypriot National Guard, very easy tanks to maintain and reliable. Of course they were getting quite old but could still go just over 100kmh on the highways and the gun still packed a punch (although not very accurate at all). The ones in service with Cyprus also have laser range finders above the 90mm in a metal box that opens. Furthermore the engines we had were not Mercedes, but Detroit Diesels that had an output of 215HP. Armament consisted of the 90mm, a 7.62 co-axial and a .50cal on top.

Cyprus is also the only western country to ever operate this family of tanks, including the E-11 Urutu and the EE-3 Jararaca (which was not mentioned in the video).

[CanalTremocos]

I love Brazil's arms industry. Always mature-tech, polished and cost-effective.

[comradedoge]

Currently serving in the Cypriot National Guard as a Cascavel operator!

[PoLaNdlife]

David Willey could talk about the history of a toilet roll for 2 hours straight and I'll find every word fascinating

[Bruno_Wosniak]

Glad to see this video, as my father was an Urutu driver when doing service in the brazilian army and also took a driver's course on the Cascavel. I remember when there were parties at the barracks and it was fun time when the kids were allowed to enter the Urutu

[reneweise]

The investment on Osorio wasn't the main reason why Engesa bankrupted, it was just the final punch. When Iraq started some conflicts it denied the payments of U$200 million. Brazil was also in the middle of the worst economic crisis so it only amplified the terrible conditions. It's a shame that this company didn't survived to show us what it could bring to life.

[randomcoyote]

The EE-9 Cascavel has always been a favorite of mine. I saw the old Iraqi ones parked at the Taji "tank park" at Taji/Camp Cook back in 2004. At the time, most of the US Army's convoy asset gun trucks were Humvees and 5-tons with cobbled-together "hillbilly armor" and I looked at those Cascavels parked there wishing we could get them going. Eventually we got MRAPS but I still think dedicated armored cars with either chain guns or some sort of medium cannon would be seriously useful. Thanks for the great tank chat!

[mortified]

Thank you so much for covering this. Non-major power militaries are a specific interest of mine, especially when they come up with their own kit. I always love the things they do differently, and how they overcome the challenges and limitations they face.

[thiezerlira]

Engesa's story is really interesting. If it had not broken after the loss in competition between MBT Osório against MBT M1 Abrams, today it would be at the same level as Embraer.

[hydorah]

Poor Engesa! What an interesting story. That MBT they built certainly looks the part

[fredorman]

Most people are unaware of Brazil’s arms and aircraft industry. I own two Rossi’s, a shotgun and a Winchester ‘92 clone. They are very high quality.

[JessWLStuart]

Looks like Brazil was decades ahead for the Open Source, and Commercial Off the Shelf concepts with the Cascavel and Urutu!

[hughboyd]

By far one of the most interesting tank chats to date. What a fascinating production history.

[Rafa]

Is so nice to see a tank chat about a vehicle from my country! Many thanks! Keep up the great work!

[marcosspagnol]

What a proud to watch a Brazilian vehicle in your reputable museum!!!
Yes, your Portuguese is pretty good, if you permit me a little correction in your pronunciation, the proper pronunciation for Engesa sounds like Enjesa, like in Jeep, but not so open.
And yes, what causes Engesa's bankrupt was more a lack of payments from the Brazilian Army than an 'adventure' trying to build an MBT.
Again, what a proud to see such a vehicle in your museum!!!
THANK YOU!!!

[HueWave]

The Cascavel is about to be revived in Brazil, while the army is looking at the Italian Centauro II and the Japanese Type-16 to replace the Cascavel with 220 units, they are also looking to upgrade 200 out of 600 Cascavels, with it being a TOTAL upgrade top to bottom, the only thing meant to stay the same is the suspension and hull and so far Israeli companies and Rheinmetall are the ones choose to begin assembly of prototypes as of march 2021. We have now to wait through 2021 to see these prototypes and which company will be chosen, and this upgrade will keep them going all the way to 2045.