RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Taurus (Tasa4) expects its arms production in the United States to help the Brazilian company minimize the impacts of imports imposed by Donald Trump’s government the day before, the company’s president Salesio Nuhs said.
Taurus, one of the largest arms manufacturers in the world, has productive facilities in Brazil and the US, and has a daily capacity of 10,000 weapons, 7,000 in Brazil and 3,000 in US territory.
Currently most of Brazilian production (85%) goes to the US, the executive said. “We are keeping an eye on the consequences of tariffs,” Nuhs told Reuters on Wednesday during the Laad Military Products Fair in Rio de Janeiro, and before the announcement of Trump’s surcharges.
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On Wednesday, Trump announced a 10% basic import tariff on all products sent to the US and higher rates on some of the country’s largest trading partners, in a measure that intensified the trade war on his return to the White House this year.
Taurus announced on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding about a possible acquisition of Turkey’s Mertsav armament manufacturer.
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According to Nuhs, Taurus hopes to complete Mertsav’s acquisition in the second half, which should make the Brazilian company one of the few in the world to offer a wide range of weapons.
“We will be the only company in the world with offer and a diverse 22 -caliber menu to .50,” said the executive. “The purchase of the Turkish company can accelerate our decision that is already made it is to make the (machine gun) .50.”
The business with Mertsav, which Nuhs did not cite values, can open to Taurus the market in Saudi Arabia, one of the targets of the internationalization strategy of the Brazilian manufacturer.
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According to the executive, a joint venture can be signed with a Saudi company and a proposal has already been presented to the government of Saudi Arabia and is in the analysis phase. The probable purchase of the Turkish company can help meet the Saudi demand that aims at the acquisition of this type of war weaponry.
For Nuhs, having a .50 gun at the portfolio should “change the direction of the company (Taurus) in the industry.”
“I think everything will be all right. It’s a lean company (Mertsav) and we don’t expect to find any buried dumb heads or skeleton in the closet,” he said.
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In addition to Saudi Arabia, Taurus is also eyeing the Indian market.
The Brazilian company has a joint venture in India with Jindal Defense called JD Taurus that produces light weapons. The partnership is eyeing a competition from the Indian government that intends to acquire thousands of firearms in the coming years.
The competition is already in the second phase when, according to Nuhs, five more companies besides Taurus. According to the executive, Indian demand would be up to 425,000 heavy weapons in five years.
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“The result should come out in four to six weeks. And we have positive expectations because we are competitive and we have been to many tests. There is national content requirement, 40% in the first year reaching 100%” in the following years, he said.
Armed drone
In the feat, Taurus presented a drone that can be equipped with a rifle and machine gun called Taurus Tatical Air Soldier (Taurus Air Tactical Soldier).
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The equipment has a 3K -stabilized 4K camera firing system, laser target, and “embedded artificial intelligence for target identification”.
The weapon costs $ 1 million, but still needs regulatory approvals to be used, the company said.
The idea, according to Taurus, is to use TAS as a substitute for helicopters in “progression actions, reducing the risk to teams on soil, eliminating the risk to the air team and minimizing material damage in cases of equipment or falling equipment.”