The past two decades have witnessed the success and rapid development of the Latin American Defense Industry Corporations
Some have been exported to many countries around the world
The most successful example in the field of defense must be mentioned, Brazil, with the typical product being the EE-11 Urutu
The Urutu was the first fully amphibious armored vehicle developed in Brazil
The vehicle was specially developed at the request of the Brazilian Army in the late 1960s
based on the drivetrain and chassis components of the EE-9 Cascavel armored vehicle
Mass production started from 1974 to 1990, with a total of more than 1,700 units produced
and exported to more than 20 countries around the world, making it a popular economic choice worldwide
Basically, EE-11 Urutu is an amphibious armored personnel carrier, with a weight of about 14 tons, a length of 6.1 m, a width of 2.85 m, and a height of 2.12 m
The crew consisted of 2 people: the driver and the gunner
The rear passenger compartment can accommodate up to 11 soldiers
Troops enter and leave the vehicle through side or rear doors, or roof hatches
There are a number of firing ports provided
The engine was fitted to a compartment at the front-right of the hull with the driver at front-left
A turret was emplaced over the middle-front of the hull roof line with the rear of the vehicle hull left for passenger seating
The wheel arrangement was of a typical 6x6 with complete suspension for off-road travel
Ground clearance was excellent for the time
Front of the hull provides protection against armor-piercing bullets, while all-round protection is against small arms bullets
mine splinters and artillery fragments
The EE-11 Urutu is fitted with an automatic fire suppression system, however NBC protection system was only optional
The EE-11 Urutu is armed with a single 12.7 mm machine gun, mounted on top of the roof
operated by a gunner seated directly behind the driver in the left of the hull
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
The manufacturer equipped Urutu with a Detroit 6V-53T 6-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine, with 212 horsepower
The vehicle can reach a maximum speed of 90 km / h, an operating range of 850 km
The EE-11 Urutu is completed with a boomerang-type rear suspension, provides great cross-country mobility
Vehicle is also fitted with a central tyre inflation system
The EE-11 Urutu is fully amphibious without any preparation
Urutus proved to be extremely popular in the Middle East, particularly with Libya and Iraq
both of which purchased large numbers to complement their fleets of Cascavel armored cars
The vehicle has seen combat service in the Chadian-Libyan War, the Iran-Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War, the Libyan Civil War and the Iraqi Civil War