US defence contractor Boeing is reportedly in talks to sell CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to the Brazilian Army.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Boeing spokesman Scott Day said: "We have had some early discussions about the Chinook with the Brazilian Army."
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The potential order is ‘not a large one’, Day added, but refused to share further details.
Meanwhile, Boeing defence division business development vice-president Chris Raymond declined to comment on the possible sale.
Relations between Brazil and the US deteriorated in 2013 after the former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the country had spied on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and other global leaders.
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As a consequence, Brazil cancelled plans to purchase F/A-18 fighter jets from Boeing.
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By GlobalDataHowever, the Brazilian President has since indicated that she is ready move on from the incident. The US has since approved several potential US weapons sales to the South American country, including 16 AGM-84L Harpoon missiles, supplied by Boeing.
Day added: "We still view Brazil as a very important country for Boeing."
Boeing has also signed a broad partnership agreement with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, and announced plans to establish an office in Sao Paolo, according to the news agency.
The CH-47 Chinook is a heavy-lift, high-altitude helicopter designed for a range of operations, including troop and cargo transport, humanitarian, disaster relief, search-and-rescue and fire fighting.
Several Chinook variants are currently operational with 17 armed forces worldwide, including the UK, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Taiwan, Greece, Korea, and Spain.
Image: US soldiers prepare to board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Fort Irwin, California, US. Photo: courtesy of Sgt Michael R. Caya.
