Key Points and Summary – Brazil’s Army has returned 17 stored M60A3 TTS Patton tanks and three M88A1 recovery vehicles to full service under “Operation Patton 2025,” boosting the combat power of units along the country’s western frontier.
-The refurbished tanks will reinforce the 20th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 4th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade while Brazil evaluates next-generation tracked vehicles like CV90, Sabra, Hunter, and VT5/VN17.
M60 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-At the same time, Brazil has begun taking delivery of 12 new UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the United States, deepening defense ties even as tariff disputes periodically flare between Washington and Brasília.
The M60 Patton Tank Is Back
In an effort it calls Operation Patton 2025, Brazil’s army has restored 17 M60A3 TTS Patton tanks from storage, along with three other M88A1 armored recovery vehicles.
According to Defence Express, the objective of the restoration was “strengthening the defense capability of the Western Military Command.”
Zona Militar reported that a closing ceremony for the restoration was held on November 28.
“Operation Patton 2025 consisted of a broad logistical and technical effort geared toward recovering 17 M60A3 TTS tanks and three M88A1 armored recovery vehicles, all restored to full operational condition,” the Zona Military story said. Army General Alcides Valeriano de Faria Junior, Western Military Commander, was among those in attendance at the ceremony.
“These platforms will be assigned to the 20th Armored Cavalry Regiment (20º RCB) and the 4th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade (4ª Bda C Mec), strengthening their combat capability, mobility, and firepower. In addition, the operation included the training of 20º RCB mechanics at the 9º B Mnt facilities, optimizing maintenance records and ensuring standardization of technical procedures within the SMEM System.”
The delivery of the tanks, the report said, “not only reinforces the technical availability and immediate operational capacity of the units, but also consolidates the logistical autonomy of the ground force in a key region for national defense.”
M60 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Brazilian Army also has the Leopard 1A5 BR in reserve, the article said.
Looking to the Future
The Zona Militar article also said that the Brazilian Army is “moving forward in defining its future tracked armored vehicles within the Strategic Armored Forces Program.”
The Army is looking at “national and international alternatives for the new Combat Armored Vehicles (VBC CC) and Infantry Combat Armored Vehicles (VBC Fuz),” and considering such options as “CV90 from BAE Systems, the SABRA Luz from Elbit Systems, the AFV Hunter from ST Engineering, and the VT5/VN17 from Norinco.”
It’s part of a continuing mixture of the old and the new for the country’s army.
“With the recovery of the M60A3 Patton, the Brazilian Army ensures the operational continuity of its armored force while advancing in the transition toward new models. This measure reinforces its deterrence and rapid-response capability on the western border, ensuring the efficiency and readiness of its armored units,” the article said.
Black Hawks Arrive, Too
The news follows the announcement by the US Army last week that the first of 12 planned UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters had arrived in Brazil on November 20. The delivery came a month ahead of schedule, the Army said.
“The new Black Hawks are being provided through a Foreign Military Sales case with the US Army Security Assistance Command and will replace S-70A (HM-2) Black Hawks and AS532 (HM-3) Cougars that have been in service for more than 20 years,” the Army said. It’s part of Brazil’s plans for its “wide-ranging mission set.”
ROC M60 tank. Image: Creative Commons.
M60 Patton Tank. Image: Creative Commons.
An M60A3 main battle tank from the 1st Platoon, 48th Brigade, 108th Armored Division, Georgia National Guard, moves through a recently cleared roadblock during the training exercise Company Team Defense. (1983)
“This purchase was made to renew our fleet and maintain our capabilities to support Brazilian society in external defense missions and subsidiary humanitarian aid actions during disasters, as well as to maintain interoperability between Brazil and the USA,” Lt. Col. Leandro Batista de Oliveira, FMS sales manager at the Brazilian Army Aviation Materiel Office, said in the US Army’s statement.
“The next step in this project is, in the near future, to weaponize our UH-60M to acquire attack capabilities.”
Rubyejean Lupo, international program manager at the U. S. Army Aviation and Missile Command Security Assistance Management Directorate (AMCOM SAMD), told the Army that the deal came about after “overcoming many obstacles along the way.”
“So many things have happened that could have delayed this case so much further, and somehow all the stars aligned on this program,” Lupo said in the Army’s statement. “I think that getting this to work has been all about us working together and talking.”
“The Brazilian Army sees the FMS program as an opportunity to deepen its partnership with the United States Army, intensifying and strengthening it,” Oliveira added. “It’s not just a purchase; it’s a symbiotic connection that will bring mutual benefits to both sides.”
All is Not Rosy
However, there remain complications in the relationship between the United States and Brazil.
The Trump Administration slapped steep tariffs on Brazil earlier this year. Per Fortune, this led Brazil’s leader, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to “bet the US leader was going all-in on a weak hand.”
In November, Trump indeed backed down and lifted tariffs on such goods as coffee and beef, amid rising beef prices.
“On October 6, 2025, I participated in a call with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during which we agreed to begin negotiations to address the concerns identified in Executive Order 14323,” the president said in a White House statement on November 20.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“These negotiations are ongoing. I also have received additional information and recommendations from various officials who, pursuant to my direction, have been monitoring the circumstances involving the emergency declared in Executive Order 14323.”
Meanwhile, per The Guardian, the US Department of the Treasury has lifted sanctions on a Brazilian judge who presided over the trial of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, as well as the judge’s wife. President Lula had pushed for that move as part of the tariff negotiations.
“Trump imposed the punishment shortly after imposing tariffs on Brazil, justifying it as a response to what he claimed was a ‘witch-hunt’ against Bolsonaro,” The Guardian reported about the move. “Moraes presided over the trial hearing in September when Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election. Days later, the Magnitsky sanctions were extended to the justice’s wife.”
Bolsonaro is a longtime Trump ally who even spent a few months living in Florida after he left office. He and his supporters’ attempt to “storm” the Capitol in Brasilia was widely seen as inspired by Trump supporters’ own January 6 Capitol attack two years earlier. However, Bolsonaro has been much less successful than his American friend in avoiding accountability for his own push to overturn election results.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
