The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, signed law 14.449/22 that authorizes the transfer to Uruguay of ten M-108 105 mm autoropropellated howitzers and 11 Engesa EE-11 Urutu armored vehicles. In this way, the negotiations initiated more than a year ago are concluded.
The armored vehicles will be transferred to the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, on the border with Uruguay, where they will be delivered to the Army. It is speculated that the Urutu operate locally in patrol and training tasks, as they no longer qualify to be deployed in United Nations peacekeeping missions due to their seniority. Uruguay is a user of the other two best-known products of the defunct Brazilian factory Engesa: the EE-9 Cascavel and the EE-3 Jararaca.
For its part, the M-108 howitzers will serve to equip a new group of self-propelled artillery and with its reception it was speculated with the possibility of starting to decommission the old M-101 howitzers. However, the long remaining service life in these systems due to their relatively little use will allow them to remain in stock, even if in reserve. With the existence of various upgrade kits, the system could continue to be valid in the region.
