Brazil’s IMBEL have completed and delivered the first batch of new 7.62x51mm IA2 rifles. The batch of 50 rifles will be delivered to the Brazilian Army’s Army Evaluation Center (CAEx) for extensive testing. IMBEL @ TFB: Brazil’s IMBEL and Taurus Announce [Read More…]
Two of Brazil’s biggest firearms manufacturers have announced the formation of a partnership for the development of products and services. IMBEL and Taurus have signed a memorandum of understanding which opens the way for the development of new products, [Read More…]
Back in April, Brazil’s IMBEL released a statement on their future plans for expanding their product portfolio, this included a passing reference to a potential partnership with SIG Sauer. The statement, however, did not go into details of what the cooperation [Read More…]
During the recent LAAD 20019 Defence and Security exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, State-owned IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil announced that the company’s Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory), in Minas Gerais State, is currently getting ready to [Read More…]
Brazil has moved to procure 4,000 new 5.56x45mm IMBEL IA2 Carbines. The state owned Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil or IMBEL, has been awarded a contract worth over $7 million. Jane’s report that the Brazilian Army’s Logistics Command has confirmed the [Read More…]
IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil may soon be producing and marketing a new 7.62x51mm sniper rifle. This comes as a follow-up of the company’s previous venture into the precision rifle market, which started in the early 1990s with the AGLC, named [Read More…]
In the Portuguese language, the noun “Xodó” is a popular expression to indicate one on whom we have a very special romantic crush or long-lasting love relationship. It’s no small wonder, then, that IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil has chosen it [Read More…]
In a matter of a few days in mid-December, 2017, IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil made two conflicting official announcements related to the company’s planning as far as pistol production is concerned, namely, the reduction from twelve to six models [Read More…]
In 1978, three years after Brazilian Army’s Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory) had become part of the IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil conglomerate, the unit’s Oficina de Protótipos (Prototypes Workshop) decided to give the earlier 9x19mm [Read More…]
Having very recently (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/11/06/imbels-ia2-based-subgun-carbine-prototypes/) written about submachine guns and pistol-caliber carbines currently under development at the Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory) facility of IMBEL – [Read More…]
The concept of “modular” or “family line” weapons is far from new, being easily found worldwide, but, much more typically, in the Heckler & Koch house. Once you have a sound, functional firing mechanism/operating system combination, chances are that they may [Read More…]
Following two earlier exploratory attempts to create a .40 S&W submachine gun (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/07/12/early-40-sw-subgun-prototype-brazil/ and https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/09/20/another-early-40-sw-subgun-prototype-imbel/ ) the [Read More…]
As already mentioned in an earlier TFB article, Brazilian police agencies were quick to follow a trend to adopt the .40 S&W round, introduced in the early 1990s as a wonder solution for most LE pistol and submachine gun needs. The local IMBEL – Indústria de [Read More…]
Following a recent firing incident with a 5.56x45mm IA2 semi-auto carbine in LE training use in Brazil, IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil has issued an official recommendation note covering two aspects of the weapon’s operation. The first of them [Read More…]
For five whole decades or so after World War II, the .45 ACP and 9x19mm calibers were, as known, the most widely employed in pistols and submachine guns worldwide, this including Brazil. Types in wide use by the country’s armed and police forces included the [Read More…]
Gathering material for articles here at TFB is a mixture of results for this senior scribe, ranging from full exultation to sheer deception. Sometimes an interesting photo negative is dug out from surviving files, just for yours truly to find out that no related info is [Read More…]
As a long-time (since the mid-1960s) licensed manufacturer of the well-known 7.62x51mm FN FAL rifle for the Brazilian Armed and Police Forces, plus also for export, IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil took the opportunity to use it as a basis for other [Read More…]
In 1997, while Brazilian Army Captain (later, Lieutenant-Colonel) Paulo Augusto Capetti Porto was working at IMBEL’s Fábrica de Itajubá as head of the R&D Office, several interesting ideas materialized into a series of prototypes generally designated as FIL-97 [Read More…]
Having recently reported (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/04/13/imbels-new-7-62x51mm-ia2-carbine-rifle/) on the official certification test program of Brazil’s IMBEL 7.62x51mm IA2 semi-auto carbine currently under way at the CAEx – Centro de Avaliação [Read More…]
During the recent (April 4-7, 2017) LAAD Defence & Security exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil showed the latest development examples of its 7.62x51mm IA2 carbine and rifle prototypes which are expected to soon join the [Read More…]
The idea is far now new: have a smaller-caliber gun to replace the real one for initial training so that you can achieve substantial cost reductions in the process. Simple as that. The formula has met with varying degrees of success (or lack of) in different countries [Read More…]
Although not much into knives, as a whole, I’ve found myself always carrying one or another to the field while participating, as a guest journalist, in military maneuvers all around Brazil along decades. Even if never used for any throat-cutting, sentinel-dispatching [Read More…]
The Imbel IA2, a 5.56mm caliber distant relative of the FAL which has been in development since 2008, has officially been standardized by the Brazilian Army. From IHS Jane’s: The Brazilian Army approved the IA2 5.56×45 mm assault rifle, developed by [Read More…]
The IMBEL IA2, the new service rifle of the Brazilian Army, is the answer to the question “What would a modern 5.56mm FN FAL look like”. It has a scaled down and lighter receiver to suit the 5.56mm cartridge and [Read More…]
There are not a lot of photos of Brazil’s new service on the internet, so I was pleased when a reader emailed me a photo in a photo of the IMBEL IA2. The rifle is based on the FN FAL, but uses a rotating bolt rather than a tilting bolt. It looks like they have [Read More…]
The IMBEL IA2, potentially the next service rifle for the Brazilian Army, can be seen going through dust, ice and over-the-beach (or in this case river) tests in the below video. Skip to 3:50 minutes. The IMBEL IA2 comes in 5.56mm and 7.62mm versions. [ Many thanks to [Read More…]
Brazil has chosen the IMBEL IA2 as its new service rifle. The rifle is based on the MD-97 and was previously named the IMBEL MD-97A2. Like its predecessor, it is based on the FN FAL but uses a rotating bolt instead of a tilting bolt. There will two versions, one [Read More…]
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