Tank origin

Inspired by the success of its armored car exports, Brazilian firm ENGESA began developing its own main battle tank in 1982. The first prototype was built with an L7 rifled 105mm gun; the second mounted a GIAT 120mm smoothbore gun. The Osório performed well in trials, drawing comparisons to the Challenger 2 and M1 Abrams and piquing the interest of Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia ultimately selected the M1 Abrams for its army instead, and the Osório’s failure as an export contributed to ENGESA’s bankruptcy.