"We signed a memorandum on technical cooperation with the [Brazilian] corporation Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia (ODT). We are currently conducting negotiations on several projects that involve technology transfers, including in air defense," Sergei Ladygin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The talks on the supply of Russian air defense systems to Brazil started in 2012, but the two countries have not yet signed a contract. Ladygin did not specify when the deal is expected to be finalized.
He added that Brazil was interested in buying Russian helicopters, and that Russia was cooperating on this matter with Embraer, Brazil's leading aerospace and defense company. Russia already delivered 12 Mi-35M attack helicopters to Brazil under a 2008 contract.
Russia has been cooperating with Brazil in the field of military technology since 1996, when a deal between the two countries was signed for the delivery of Russian air defense systems to the Latin American country. In 2008, Moscow and Brasilia signed an agreement establishing a military technologies partnership.
