Commander of the Navy, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, suggested that Brazil spend at least 2% of GDP on the Armed Forces.| Photo: Navy Social Communication

The commander of the Navy, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen said that 40% of the Brazilian Navy squadron could be deactivated by 2028 due to lack of investments. The ships are old and expensive to maintain, the Navy commander said this week to deputies from the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense in the Chamber.

The Navy commander defended the linking of 2% of the Defense budget to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to expenses with the Armed Forces, and not just 1.1%, as it is today. The 2% threshold is the minimum standard recommended internationally by NATO (Western military alliance).

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is triggering a global arms race. This is one of the factors that makes revising the percentage necessary, according to Olsen. Poland, which borders Russia, is investing 4% and the United States 3.5%. Colombia, in South America, invests 3.5% of GDP.

“The material has a life, after a certain point it becomes uneconomical”, said Olsen. He said that currently there is not enough fuel, lubricants and ammunition for adequate protection of the Brazilian coast. As an example, the admiral stated that the Navy needs to spend BRL 74 million per year on ammunition (which are perishable products), but only received BRL 6.8 million for this purpose.

The Minister of Defense and the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force participated in a public hearing in the Chamber last Wednesday (17) and asked for support from the Legislature for strategic projects of the Armed Forces.