SisGAAz Exclusive – Three Main Contractors, assemble!

Note

The Editor

Nelson Düring
DefesaNet Chief Editor

On January 19th, at the Brazilian Navy’s Strategic Programs Management Office, the “Main Contractors” and partnerships for the Blue Amazon Management System (SisGAAz in Portuguese) were made official.

DefesaNet tried to contact the Brazilian Navy Strategic Programs Management Office (DGePEM) and the Navy’s Social Communications Center (CCSM) for official word on the matter, but there was no response until the time this article was published.

After researching from many sources, DefesaNet brings first hand to its readers the following information, as precise as our team was able to check.

After the January 19^th meeting, two major Brazilian companies were certain to take part in establishing the SisGAAz system:

– EMBRAER Defesa & Segurança (EDS), and,
– ODEBRECHT Defesa e Tecnologia (ODT).

And the third company, ORBITAL´s name coming up is a great surprise, since the company did not show up in previous main contractors’ candidates lists. It only applied after a second roll call made by the DGePEM.

ORBITAL Engenharia, is based on São José dos Campos (SP).

Information confirming all consortiums members are still premature, since many more companies will be presented by Main Contractor when the Brazilian Navy require detailed technology solutions.

At the moment, based on data collected by the DefesaNet team, the SisGAAz official partnerships are as follows:

1 – EMBRAER Defesa & Segurança (EDS) – The company listed mainly its subsidiaries such as: BRADAR, ATECH and VISIONA. Like in the Brazilian Army SISFRON Program, AEL Sistemas (a joint company between ELBIT –EMBRAER) should also take part, along with SAAB subsidiary MEDAV. The SAVIS consortium (responsible for implementing the Integrated Border Surveillance Project – SISFRON), helped creating EDS’s technical proposal for the SisGAAz.Airbus Defence & Space will also be associated with EMBRAER, providing surveillance satellites.

2 – ODEBRECHT Defesa e Tecnologia (ODT) – will be associated with American-Canadian company MDA (radar systems and advanced electronics),  also  with Spanich company INDRA and  Swedish SAAB.

3 – ORBITAL Engenharia has Chinese company China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) as main partner.

DefesaNet has obtained information that Israeli company IAI will also provide technological solutions for one of the consortiums.

Surprising or not, were large building contractors absence (maybe related to Big Oil Scandal) the following contractors:

– Andrade Gutierrez Defesa & Segurança with a SisGAAZ project design by RUSTCON; the company’s absence was actually decided moments before required documents for the partnership with the Navy were delivered.

– Queiroz Galvão Defesa had American giants Lockheed Martin and Rockwell Collins,as partners.

Also in the previous lists of candidates to Main Contractors for the Blue Amazon Surveillance system were  ENGEVIX Sistemas de Defesa e Tecnologia and  IESA Óleo e Gás S.A. Before that, OAS had already announced its withdrawal from the defense business.

How to be a Main Contractor

The Blue Amazon Management System implementation was designed by the Brazilian EZUTE Foundation (formelly ATECH Foundation) and is based around de concept of “Main Contractor”. In Janyary 2014 The Brazilian Navy issued a RFP document presenting the  official standard for what a Main Contractor is:

“MAIN CONTRACTOR (Contratante Principal in Portuguese) – Entity that undertakes responsibility, before the Brazilian Navy Project Management Office, to coordinate and execute development and integration work on the systems that comprise the SisGAAz, produced by the  System Contractors for the SisGAAz Program (FSIS)”.

There are two key elements to being a “Main Contractor”:

–  More than 150 million Reais (around U$ 60 Million Dollars) in company capital (the Main Contractor’s or the sum of all partnership members), and,

– Being registered by the Brazilian government as a Strategic Defense Company (EED).

It will be the Main Contractor’s responsibility to provide interfaces between its products and the Brazilian Navy, the EZUTE Foundation and EMGEPRON, as well as managing the SisGAAz Program Systems Contractors.
 
SisGAAz – what is it

The Blue Amazon Management System (SisGAAz) is classified as a “frame of systems” comprised of smaller subsystem working together to collect, share, analyze and present operational data, as well as providing a set of decision support resources.

Existing and brand new subsystems will be arranged in an inter-operational frame that will provide better data combination, and decision and measure-taking resources for each foreseen scenario.

The SisGAAz itself will require Brazilian Navy ships, aircrafts, unmanned air and underwater vehicles, as well as several sensors and satellites that will bind together all data networks and decision aid mechanisms.

In the future, the management network could be merged with other sensors and surveillance frames, such as the Brazilian Army’s Border Surveillance System (SISFRON) and the Airspace Control System operated by the Air Force.

ORBITAL ENGENHARIA – Big a surprise

The novelty that came along two major defense companies as a SisGAAZ Main Contractor is São José dos Campos, based ORBITAL ENGENHARIA. The company has been taking on many important Brazilian Space projects – the most relevant one is developing the Liquid Propellant Engine-Rocket along with the Brazilian Air Force Aeronautics and Space Institute. The Engine-Rocket was tested on September 1^st last year.

In August 2014, ORIBITAL signed an aerospace cooperation agreement with Chinese company China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) and Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources (SISP), as background the joint Brazilian-Chinese CBERS program.

At the time, the Brazilian contractor was the first one to become partners with Chinese institutions. The agreement was a result of negotiations held in China between Brazilian and Chinese companies with support of the Brazilian Space Agency back in December 2013 – when the Chinese-Brazilian Remote Sensor Satellite (CBERS) program put in orbit its fourth satellite.

Making the best of this mutual understanding, ORBITAL Engenharia became partner with China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), aiming for the SisGAAz contract. The Chinese company was created in the 90’s after China reorganized its defense sector, and has a catalog that goes from surface-air MANPAD missiles to satellites and advanced electronic systems.

The future of SisGAAz

The strengthening of the Brazilian Defense Industrial Base with the presence of two major players – EMBRAER Defesa & Segurança and ODEBRECHT Defesa e Tecnologia – is a logical aftermath. Providing means for surveillance and management in the Blue Amazon area will impact the future of both companies.

Having the “outsider” ORBITAL Egenharia as a SisGAAz Main Contractor is something that should be analyzed carefully – it’s not as simple as plain competition.

The São José dos Campos newcomer is associated with a powerful Chinese group connected to the government in Beijing, and is taking part in a project that, i its initial phase, will receive heavy investment from China. Beijing loaned 10 billion dollar to Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras back in 2009 – the debt is being paid with oil extracted from the Pre-Salt underwater reservoirs.

There already four Chinese oil companies operating on Brazilian shores: CNPC, CNOOC, SINOPEC and SINOCHEM.

Petrobras now considers selling some of its shares of Pre Salt exploration areas. If Chinese companies become interested in these shares, they may jump from 20 to 30 or even 40 drilling fields.

Final words on the matter

The Brazilian Navy has informed the three Main Contractors of the new schedule. In March, the companies should present their proposals to the Projects Management Office (GPMB). It is possible that the Navy skips the short-list indication phase.

The main goal remains – having a final decision on the SisGAAz implementation in 2015. However, sources contacted by DefesaNet believe there are very small chances for a contract to be signed this year.

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