Joesley Batista to Invest in Avibras to Produce Army Missiles

Joesley Batista, the billionaire controller of J&F and former chairman of JBS, is set to inject R$300 million into Avibras, Brazil’s largest military equipment manufacturer. The investment is intended to support the restructuring of the defense company and facilitate the restart of its operations.

The funding is being structured through Fundo Brasil Crédito. According to reporting from O Estado de S. Paulo, this capital injection is expected to provide the immediate liquidity necessary to remove a critical bottleneck in the company’s recovery plan.

Financial Restructuring and Operational Restart

Avibras has been operating under judicial recovery, burdened by more than R$600 million in debt, labor disputes, and delays in delivering products ordered by the Brazilian Army. The original restructuring blueprint required a matching R$300 million from public sources, including government programs and development banks.

Due to delays in the arrival of state funding, private investors moved forward with the capital injection. With this new funding, Avibras is preparing to resume production as early as May 2026 and may formally announce the conclusion of its restructuring process in the coming weeks.

Strategic Defense Programs

The investment is critical for the continuation of several strategic military programs. Avibras is the developer of the Astros rocket system and the MTC-300 tactical cruise missile, the latter of which is reported to be approximately 90% complete.

Beyond existing projects, the company is pursuing new developments, including the ST-100 ballistic missile and expanded applications for the Mansup system. These programs are viewed as potential export opportunities amid rising global demand for defense equipment.

National Security and Foreign Interest

The entry of a domestic investor like Batista addresses significant political and security concerns within the Brazilian armed forces. The military had previously resisted the prospect of foreign control over Avibras, which would have risked the sovereignty of sensitive technologies.

Prior to this domestic solution, several international entities and consortia had expressed interest in the troubled firm:

• Black Storm Military Industries: A company from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that engaged in advanced discussions with Avibras on January 31, 2025, for a potential investment aimed at financial recovery.
• Akaer-led Consortium: A group including the Brazilian firm Akaer, the Abu Dhabi Investment Group (ADIG) of the UAE, Brasilinvest Banco de Negócios, and the US-based GF Capital. This consortium signed a memorandum of understanding valid until August 2025, proposing an investment of over US$ 500 million to assume control of the company through a merger with Akaer.
• Other Interest: Previous interest had been noted from China’s Norinco and Australia’s DefendTex.

The Brazilian Ministry of Defence and the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) have monitored these various proposals. The decision to move forward with domestic private funding is seen as a way to reduce national security risks associated with foreign ownership.

Avibras, founded in 1961 by engineers from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), remains a central pillar of Brazil’s defense capabilities. The current injection of R$300 million by Joesley Batista is positioned as the catalyst to end the company’s prolonged crisis and restart the production of strategic missiles for the Brazilian Army.