[4] Operated by infantry or vehicles, the system consists of a reloadable launch tube, laser-guided missile and firing unit, as well as a simulator and testing equipment.
Development has taken decades, and the anti-tank missile sector, which the MSS 1.2 intends to fill, remained undeveloped within the Brazilian Army.
[8] Brazilian military literature recognizes anti-tank defense as a field in need of improvement, which, as of 2023, "lacks deeper study and employment";[9] "anti-tank capacity generation in Brazilian infantry is incomplete in its cycle of determinant factors: doctrine, organization, training, materiel, education, personnel and infrastructure", and since the 1980s, the Army "is out of sync with the period's global tendency, which has followed the pace of the arms race inherited from the Cold War."
[15] One of many West European projects for defense against an armored invasion, the “Missile Anti-Carro della Fanteria” (MAF) began its development in Italy in the 1980s.
The project was a private venture by Oto Melara, which left Officine Galileo in charge of guidance, Breda with the firing unit and SNIA-BPD with the engine and warhead.
[17] In the same year, the Brazilian Army opened a bidding process for a locally-produced, medium-ranged anti-tank missile for its infantry units.
[18] In January 1987 Engesa transferred this project and two other missiles to the newly-created Órbita Sistemas Aeroespaciais S.A, de São José dos Campos.
[22] The 1999 the project's manager reported at the Military Journal of Science and Technology (Portuguese: Revista Militar de Ciência e Tecnologia) on changes made since 1994 and the delivery target for 40 prototypes until August.
[2] A study published by the Applied Economic Research Institute (Portuguese: Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas Aplicadas, Ipea) concluded the programme was a success and "the country, through Mectron, is qualified to develop, design, produce and assess surface-to-surface anti-tank missiles", which, according to the author, would soon equip infantry and cavalry units.
[18] The Ministry of Defense's 2014 management report stated that the "MSS 1.2 missile's development is in its final phase and some parties are interested in the product".
[25] From May to July 2015, CTEx and Mectron technicians made launches in Marambaia, "continuing the preparation for the pilot batch's assessment process".
[26] Mectron, which was by then part of Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia, signed a contract to "continue assessment tests for the pilot batch".
[2] Funded by the Studies and Projects Financier (Portuguese: Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Finep), they redid the guidance system.
[22][2] The project was "in an operation and technical-operational assessment phase to enable deliveries of pilot batches for the Armed Forces and/or exports".
[28] In the following year, the missile was nearing production, according to SIATT;[29] technical evaluation of pre-series batches approached its final phase.
[34] The Brazilian Army anticipated the MSS 1.2's distribution in December 2023 by sending half of its stocks to Roraima, where they equipped the 7th Jungle Infantry Battalion and the newly-created 18th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment.
Army General Staff representatives conferenced with SIATT's directors to negotiate a new order of around 200 missiles, which would equip units across the country.
These measures were a result of the Guyana–Venezuela crisis and the lack of armaments fit to respond to the Venezuelan Army's T-72 tanks in the event of an intrusion into Brazilian territory.
Its planned organization includes four missile platoons with four launchers each, equipped with armored (Iveco Guaicurus) or unarmored (Agrale AM21) vehicles.
[35] Test and evaluation report n. 052/24, which covers the MSS pilot batch, was finally homologated by the Army's Science and Technology Department on June 26.
[36] SIATT's newly-expanded plant in São José dos Campos was expected to begin production in the near future.
[45][46] In 2002 engineer Elizabeth Koslova, in an analysis of the Brazilian missile program, criticized the MSS 1.2's weight/range ratio, blaming it on the laser guidance, which has a large fixed weight.
The Brazilian system was considered inappropriate in its role, although useful for Anti-tank Sections in Mechanized Cavalry Regiments and equivalent units.
Maximum range, lack of diversity in ammunition, guidance system (which isn't 4th or 5th generation) and absence of service experience were the unfavorable variables to its use.
[7] Future versions planned as of 2024 would raise penetration beyond 1,000 millimeters and improve the missile's effectiveness against reactive armor, according to SIATT.