Brazil plans to rebuild its once-thriving weapons industry with the help of technology from other countries, a senior official said Sept. 3.

Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger said Brazil's new National Defense Plan calls for the establishment of partnerships with countries such as Russia and France to build a state-of-the-art weapons industry.

But such partnerships must include the transfer of technology, he said.

"We will not simply be buyers or clients, but partners," Unger said.