UAE's Caracal wants to make guns in Brazil

Ronaldo Olive
by Ronaldo Olive

Caracal International LLC, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is planning to establish a production facility in Anápolis, Goiás State, Brazil. An MO (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed last October between that company and Delfire Indústria e Comércio de Extintores Ltda, a local manufacturer of fire extinguishers, to take the first official steps toward that goal, which also has the political support of the Goiás State Government. Although no exact details have been announced, it is believed that production would initially involve CKD (Complete Knock-Down) components, and that Brazilian-made guns might start coming out of assembly lines in about 12 months.

Considering the strict limitations imposed on Brazilian citizens in firearms ownership and use, it is a sure bet that Caracal is primarily aiming at the local LE market, mainly now that Forjas Taurus is under close legal scrutiny with reference to the large number of accidents caused by pistols (mainly the 24/7 series) firing after being accidentally dropped. More details in https://vitimasdataurus.com/.

It should be recalled that previous attempts by Glock and CZ to produce pistols in Brazil have not been successful, the same fate hitting an attempt by a local company, Militaria, to make the Sig Sauer P250 in the country. However, the Taurus troubles mentioned above may result in a different outcome.

Significantly, sample Caracal guns are already being tested and demonstrated in Brazil, as shown in the pictures below obtained by TFB (the guy firing a CAR 816 in full-auto is a member of the Goiás State Civil Police’s Grupo Tático 3, or G.T.3., the SpecOps team):

Ronaldo Olive
Ronaldo Olive

Ronaldo is a long-time (starting in the 1960s) Brazilian writer on aviation, military, LE, and gun subjects, with articles published in local and international (UK, Switzerland, and U.S.) periodicals. His vast experience has made him a frequent guest lecturer and instructor in Brazil's armed and police forces.

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  • Ben Loong Ben Loong on Nov 29, 2016

    I distinctly recall CZ pulling out of it's Brazilian venture because their local partner was "unable to carry out [our] goals to a successful conclusion".

    Let's see how well Caracal does with their venture.

  • Mazryonh Mazryonh on Dec 01, 2016

    If UAE's Caracal is going to be using local Brazilian labour and possibly the same labour sources as Taurus did, how are they going to avoid the same quality-control issues that landed Taurus International in a class-action lawsuit? Do they have what it takes to avoid the same problems?

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