International strategic partnerships, defense, and development: lessons from EMB-326 Xavante and AMX A-1 in Brazil

Abstract

This article examines two emblematic military aircraft projects jointly developed by Brazil and Italy — the EMB-326 Xavante (1970) and the AMX A-1 (1985) — to assess how the
international strategic partnerships forged through these initiatives enabled Embraer to accumulate both productive and technological capabilities. These collaborations not only
led to the production of Brazil’s first domestically manufactured jet but also provided access to critical technologies and laid the foundation for the company’s expansion into new production lines targeting international markets. The analysis is organized into the following sections: a discussion of international partnerships in the context of Brazil’s National Defense Strategy and the country’s fiscal and budgetary constraints; a historical review of the EMB-326 Xavante and AMX A-1 programs and their impact on the national aerospace sector; and an exploratory data analysis of military aircraft exports from the 1960s to the 2010s, offering a complementary commercial perspective on how the capabilities developed through these programs helped position military aircraft as the leading category of Brazil’s defense exports. The findings reaffirm the role of international partnerships in
strengthening Brazil’s aerospace industry and offer valuable insights — particularly for public policy formulation — into how international collaborations can advance the development of the Defense Industrial Base.