On April 12, the Brazilian Senate approved, in a symbolic vote, a 2020 agreement between Brazil and the United States regarding military technology research and development. Signed in Miami, the agreement on Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Projects (RDT&E) covers collaboration, research, and development of advanced technology components and prototypes, including the loan of equipment and materials.
Exchange
The agreement provides for information sharing and cooperation of military initiatives on both sides and the creation of working groups to explore, study, and present more specific issues or to align research and development parameters. The United States already has similar agreements with Germany, France, India, Italy, Israel, Singapore, and Sweden.
Evaluation
According to Brazilian Senator Roberto Rocha, who presided over the committee which presented the bill, this is an agreement focused on research and development of technologies for military use and does not involve the readiness or use of military forces, noting that, as a rule, technologies for military use go to civilian industries, having a multiplier effect on jobs.
“Aside from allowing Brazil and the United States to develop and improve [technologies], the RDT&E Agreement, from a technological point of view, their military capabilities, will facilitate the introduction of Brazilian-made items in the U.S. defense equipment market and in 28 NATO member countries, because the agreement will follow the standard of the Atlantic Alliance for all the equipment developed and produced, knowing that this is the adopted standard, equally, by countless other countries outside this alliance,” Roberto Rocha said in his report.
The senator highlighted that the RDT&E Agreement is in the so-called “military diplomacy” field, establishing cooperation and strengthening relations between countries, in addition to collaborating with technological development and personnel training and complementing traditional diplomatic activities aimed at regional stability and world peace.