Brazil develops an anti-tank variant of the U.S. M1301 ISV vehicle through SMACE program.

Brazil’s Marine Corps signed a contract with SIATT at the Dubai Airshow 2025 to field the SMACE system, integrating the MAX 1.2 AC anti-tank missile, a modified M1301 ISV, and the QX-2 drone, with an initial delivery planned in 2026.

On November 19, 2025, the Brazilian company SIATT, part of the broader Emirati EDGE Group, signed a contract with the Brazilian Marine Corps during the Dubai Airshow 2025 to deliver the Expeditionary Anti-Tank Missile System known as SMACE. The agreement covers an integrated configuration that combines the MAX 1.2 anti-tank missile, a high mobility 4x4 vehicle based on the U.S.-made M1301 ISV, and a QX-2 drone for reconnaissance and ground attack missions. According to the contract framework, the first system will be delivered in 2026 for operational assessment, and SIATT intends to expand production capacity afterward to meet additional demand from the Marine Corps, which aligns with EDGE’s broader plans to increase its industrial presence in Brazil.
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This new SMACE anti-tank vehicle will be part of the Brazilian Marine Corps' concept of dispersed operations, rapid ship-to-shore transition, coordinated long-range strikes, and sustained mobility in demanding terrain. (Picture source: EDGE Group)

The SMACE is designed as a mobile anti-tank system mounted on two high-mobility 4x4 vehicles with light ballistic protection for operation in inland and amphibious environments. In the configuration selected by the Brazilian Marine Corps, the system integrates the MAX 1.2 AC missile, a battlefield management system (BMS), a DIZ100T long-range data link antenna, and the QX-2 unmanned aircraft produced by ADASI. The chosen carrier is a lightly armoured variant of the GM Defense M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) adapted to accommodate a four-person crew, an internal control cell for the missile and drone, and protected operator workstations. The QX-2 drone, with a range of about 20 km, provides reconnaissance, target acquisition, and small bombing capabilities that turn the vehicle into an observation and engagement node rather than a platform limited to missile launching.

The MAX 1.2 AC anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) originates from the Italian Missile Anti Carro della Fanteria programme of the 1980s, firstly developed by Oto Melara and joined by Brazil’s Engesa in 1986. After being selected by the Brazilian Army in a competition against systems such as TOW and BILL, the project moved first to the Brazilian company Órbita and later to Mectron when Engesa and Órbita collapsed. Over several decades, the missile underwent multiple redesign phases under the Army’s Research and Development Institute and Technological Center, with repeated delays tied to reduced defence investment and industrial constraints. A pilot batch of sixty-six missiles reached the Brazilian Army and the Marine Corps between 2013 and 2014, but technical issues related mainly to the laser receptor during tests in 2015 required further corrections and postponed full approval.

In 2017, former Mectron employees established the company SIATT after the Odebrecht crisis and took over the missile programme, intending to restore its development cycle. The company reworked the guidance system with support from the innovation agency Finep and restarted testing in 2018 under a revised configuration that produced improved results compared to previous trials. In September 2023, EDGE Group acquired half of SIATT, which added resources and production capacity. In 2024, the Brazilian Army’s Department of Science and Technology validated the evaluation results and signed a licensing, production, and commercialisation agreement with SIATT, authorising domestic manufacturing and export of the missile under the updated MAX 1.2 AC designation, adopted in reference to Brazilian Expeditionary Force sergeant Max Wolff Filho. The Brazilian Army had already anticipated the weapon’s operational use by sending part of its earlier MSS 1.2 stock to Roraima during the Guyana-Venezuela crisis to reinforce units facing potential contact with Venezuelan T-72 tanks, since imported systems such as Spike LR2 were difficult to obtain at the time.

The MAX 1.2 AC is a medium-range, beam-riding, laser-guided, anti-tank missile transportable by infantry or vehicles and capable of airdrop deployment. Its launcher tube measures approximately 1,487 mm in length with a diameter of 155 mm and a weight of 24.8 kg, and the missile inside is about 1,387 mm long, 130 mm in diameter, and around 15 to 15.4 kg in weight. The firing post with tripod stands roughly 543 mm high and 417 mm wide, and the complete system weighs around 52 kg. The missile uses a two-stage solid propellant engine, rear fins for stability, and electrically actuated canards for steering while following a laser beam projected by the operator.

Its shaped charge warhead, based on the HMX, provides a penetration level generally cited around 500 to 530 mm of rolled homogeneous armour equivalence (RHAe), with other studies indicating higher potential values. Its range is described as at least 2,000 m and up to around 3,000 or 3,220 m in favourable conditions, and some tests recorded hits between 3,500 and 4,000 m. Future versions designated MSS 1.3 AC and a subsequent fourth variant are planned to extend the effective range to three and then four kilometres, introduce autonomous flight and fire and forget guidance, and increase penetration beyond 1,000 mm against reactive armour.

On the other hand, the GM Defense M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle, chosen as the SMACE carrier, originates from the US Army Ground Mobility Vehicle programme, which selected it in 2020 as a light, fast, air transportable vehicle for infantry squads. It is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, with about ninety percent commercial off-the-shelf components, and weighs around 2,236 kg with a payload of approximately 1,500 kg. The ISV is powered by a 2.8 litre turbo diesel engine producing about 275 horsepower coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, and it incorporates a tubular structure with a roll-over protection. The design favours mobility and speed over heavier armoring, allowing internal transport in CH-47 Chinook helicopters, sling loading under UH-60 Black Hawks, and low velocity airdrop from C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft, to allow rapid deployment and movement over difficult terrain.

The M1301 ISV has already been fielded across several US infantry brigade combat teams in roles requiring rapid displacement and high mobility, and its employment by the 101st Airborne Division during the response to Hurricane Helene in 2024 could serve to illustrate its use in demanding non-combat environments. Canada has also adopted the vehicle for its light forces, demonstrating its applicability in different military structures. The vehicle has served as a base for several experimental variants, including a Multipurpose High Energy Laser demonstrator and a command and control model equipped with radios, encryption systems, and mission command terminals. These adaptations show how the ISV design supports modular integration of advanced systems, enabling the platform to shift from troop transport to roles involving communication management or technology testing across multiple armed forces.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.