The stunning Brazilian Army base at Fort Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro has hosted the 7th edition of NCT América del Sur, the only joint CBRNE conference, exhibition, and training event on the continent. The event’s gold sponsor was AIRSENSE Analytics.
Returning to Fort Copacabana for the third time with the enthusiastic support of the Brazilian Army, NCT América del Sur 2025 took place from March 25-27 and welcomed over 250 delegates from across Brazil, South America, North America, and Europe. Also in attendance were representatives of the Argentine Army, Uruguayan Army, Colombian Army reserves, and INTERPOL.
Brazilian Army Capability Demonstration
The event began on March 25 with the arrival of two Generals of the Brazilian Army – BG Lucio Alves de Souza, Head of the Operations Coordination Center of the Eastern Military Command, and BG (Ret.) José Oiticica Moreira, Chief of the Operational Health Division of the Logistics Command – for the live CBRN capability demonstration in which the Brazilian Army’s 1st CBRN Defense Battalion showcased their response to a simulated chemical attack.
Following the demonstration, delegates had the opportunity to closely inspect and learn more about the equipment used by the 1st CBRN Defense Battalion, including decontamination tents, mobile laboratories, and stand-off detectors. The first day of NCT América del Sur 2025 concluded with a traditional churassco party.
Conference and Exhibition Opening
The second day of NCT América del Sur 2025 saw the opening of the conference and exhibition. The former was hosted by José Zea Agüero, Director General of CINQUI, Peru, and welcomed 23 speakers across the two days.
NCT Consultants and the CBRNe Society were honored to welcome General of the Brazilian Army Francisco Carlos Machado Silva, Chief of the Department of Education and Culture, to the opening plenary, as well as BG Lucio Alves de Souza, who returned to give a full presentation on CBRN defense during high-visibility events.
The opening plenary also welcomed Col. BM Alexandre Sório Nunes, Chairman of the Firefighters League, National Hazardous Products Committee, and Leonel Carlos Guerrieri, the Regional Focal Point for Explosives at the Chemical Terrorism and Explosives Prevention Unit at INTERPOL.
Following the opening plenary, delegates were taken on the traditional NCT Tech Tour in which exhibiting companies presented their latest innovations and solutions in CBRNE preparedness and defense. General Carlos Machado and BG Lucio Alves de Silva were also given a private tour of the exhibition prior to the full Tech Tour.
The two subsequent conference sessions welcomed Col. Dalton Muniz Santos of the Brazilian Air Force, Cpt. Pedro Salviano de Albuquerque Neto of the Brazilian Navy, Maj. Carlos Tomasino of the Argentine Army, and Maj. Rodrigo Manzo of the Uruguayan Army, as well as representatives of AIRSENSE Analytics, SERB Pharmaceuticals, and North American Rescue.
PRO eXperience Trainings
However, the event not only consisted of a conference and industry exhibition. Recognizing the importance of putting theory and equipment into first responders’ hands, NCT Consultants’ unique PRO training concept was a key element behind the success of NCT América del Sur 2025.
During NCT PRO eXperience at Fort Copacabana, a total of nine CBRN and EOD teams from the Brazilian Army, Navy, and military firefighters trained in realistic scenarios on the latest cutting-edge equipment provided by sponsoring private companies.
Furthermore, the combination of CBRN and EOD capabilities working together in training scenarios was mentioned as being unique, demonstrating the value that the NCT PRO training series brought to Brazilian first responders.
Final Day and Closing
The third and final day of NCT América del Sur 2025 saw the conference and exhibition continue, welcoming eight speakers from the Brazilian Army, Brazilian Federal Police, Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, and the Institute of Radiation Protection and Dosimetry. Col. Jorge Frías Barrera of the Argentine Army also took to the stage on the second day of the conference.
NCT Consultants and the CBRNe Society were honored to welcome the Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Army, General Richard Fernandez Nunes, to the final day of the event. Alongside the Managing Director of NCT Consultants Ilja Bonsen, General Fernandez Nunes presented PRO eXperience training teams with coins and certificates recognizing their participation in this unique event. NCT América del Sur 2025 was closed with speeches from General Fernandez Nunes, conference chairman José Zea Agüero, and Ilja Bonsen.
In addition to General Richard Fernandez Nunes, General Carlos Francisco Machado Silva, BG (Ret.) José Oiticica Moreira, and BG Lucio Alves de Souza, NCT Consultants and the CBRNe Society would like to extend a special thanks to:
- MG Tales Eduardo Areco Villela, Army Manufacturing Director
- MG Rogério Cetim de Siqueira, Director of Military Technical Education
- BG Kurt Everton Werberich, 3rd Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff
- Col. Alexandre Marcos Carvalho de Vasconcelos, CBRN Advisor to the Army General Staff
- M.Sc. Raquel Sotélo Pinheiro de Vasconcelos
- Dr. Sérgio Antônio Frazão Araujo, General Coordinator of Sensitive Goods of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
- Sr. Carlos Faria Júnior, Tactical Operations Command, Brazilian Federal Police
- Col. BM Alexandre Sório Nunes, Chairman of the Firefighters League, National Hazardous Products Committee
- Col. Alexandre Roberto da Silva, Commander of Fort Copacabana
- Lt. Col. André Luiz Bifano da Silva, Commander of the 1st Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Battalion
- Cpt. Bruno Maia Nóbrega Alves, Commander of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Company
- Lt. Col. Fábio Andrade dos Santos, Civil Defense of the State of Rio de Janeiro
- CMG Anderson Ribeiro de Mattos, Commander of the Center for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological Defense, Brazilian Navy
Photos from NCT América del Sur 2025 can be viewed online here. South America’s only combined CBRN conference, exhibition, and training event will be returning to Colombia in 2026.
NCT Consultants
The NCT events and trainings are organized by NCT Consultants, a defense and security company with 12 years of international experience, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The company contributes to warfighters’ and first responders’ missions and capabilities to counter the threats of weapons of mass destruction and mitigate their effects. NCT Consultants connects businesses, governments, and NGOs by providing knowledge and networking, training, and assisting in building global partner capacities and partnerships.
The flagship activities of NCT Consultants are the NCT annual events in Europe, the USA, South America, the Asia Pacific region, and the Middle East. Built on strong cooperation with government partners, the regional NCT events are the leading CBRNE, C-IED, EOD, and demining event series in the world with around 250-400 participants per edition.
NCT Consultants is present in three continents with companies based in the Netherlands, USA, and Singapore, and since October 2024 has a regional office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
