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Brazil will send a delegation led by its defense and trade ministers to Türkiye, following a phone call between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that touched on expanding defense cooperation, according to a report by Brazil's Tecnologia & Defesa.
The call touched on potential cooperation involving Otokar's Tulpar armored vehicle family and Baykar's Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), the outlet reported.
The two leaders spoke by phone Monday to discuss bilateral relations and regional and global developments, Türkiye's Presidential Communications Directorate said in a statement.
According to Tecnologia & Defesa, Lula and Erdogan agreed to send a Brazilian delegation to Türkiye headed by the ministers of defense and of development, industry and trade.
The two presidents also agreed to establish a Strategic Council at the vice-presidential level to draft a road map for deepening bilateral relations.
Both presidents reportedly celebrated the recent ratification by both countries' parliaments of the Defense Industry Cooperation Agreement, with Lula saying Brazil intends to expand investment in the defense sector and expressing interest in fostering partnerships between Brazilian and Turkish companies in the field.
Tecnologia & Defesa reported that among the defense agreements currently under discussion, particular attention is being given to Otokar's Tulpar family of tracked armored vehicles, one of the candidates in the Brazilian Army's New Family of Tracked Armored Vehicles program.
The outlet said medium-altitude air defense systems, Baykar's Bayraktar TB3 drones, of interest to all three of Brazil's armed forces, and space-sector negotiations are also being discussed.
According to a separate report by Tecnologia & Defesa, Otokar's Tulpar offer to the Brazilian Army includes a Caterpillar C13-series diesel engine rated at 720 horsepower paired with an Allison 3040 MX transmission.
The outlet said both components are not subject to US ITAR export restrictions, an advantage for Brazil in ensuring smooth logistics for local production, and noted this ITAR-free feature is absent from most Western competitors' submissions in the tender.
The report said Tulpar is competing in both infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and light tank variants in Brazil's tender. While the turret for the IFV variant remains unclear, Leonardo's new HITFACT MKII turret with a 120mm L45 smoothbore gun is a likely choice for the light tank offer because of its firepower advantage.
Brazilian Army officials have previously visited Otokar's facilities for demonstrations of Tulpar fitted with both Otokar's self-developed Mizrak turret and the Italian HITFACT MKII turret.
According to Türkiye's Presidential Communications Directorate, Erdogan said during the call that it was pleasing to see relations between the two countries, whose advanced foundation was laid 20 years ago, continuing to develop, and that deepening cooperation in investment, trade and the defense industry, among other areas, would benefit both nations.
"Our president stated that he believes we can implement an economic cooperation model that will increase the welfare of both countries' peoples against protectionist tendencies. President Erdogan also stated that Türkiye and Brazil's peace-oriented policies on regional and global issues contribute to world peace," the statement said.
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