A prototype form soon emerged in 1982 as the "X-30" and this model was completed with the rather limited M32 76mm main gun of the original the M41 Walker Bulldog. Nine more prototypes followed from 1983 through 1985 and these were given the more appropriate 90mm guns found in combat tanks elsewhere - though a move to the excellent L7A3 105mm caliber was already apparent globally. The 90mm guns were an in-house product engineered by Bernardini itself and some 68 x 90mm rounds could be stored aboard. It was only the 11th and final prototype that was given a heftier 105mm main gun system and this form appeared in 1987. Secondary armament would come in the form of a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun - traditional defense weapons on any modern tank. Ammunition counts for the machine guns were 3,000 and 600 rounds respectively.
Evaluation of the prototypes continued for several years to which, at some point, the design also took on the name of MB-3 "Tamoyo". Brazilian authorities took an interest in its development but budget constraints were always an issue. Indigenous designs were always more expensive than procurement of "off the shelf" examples. To make matters worse, rival firm Engesa also put forth their EE-T1 "Osorio" MBT for contention around 1987 and this directly competed with the Bernardini design. Perhaps the final strike against both indigenous attempts came from the glut of used tanks available on the foreign market. This avenue proved the most fiscally sound and the Brazilians knew what they were getting with these machines. As such, authorities elected to purchase used German Leopard 1 and American M60A3 TTS (Tank Thermal Sight) MBTs in batches of 250 and 91 respectively, which forced Bernardini and Engesa to look elsewhere for potential buyers, doomed by forces beyond their control. Bernardini did not immediately give up its hopes to sell the Tamoyo to a foreign market but interest waned on the type. The Tamoyo was, therefore, never procured for serial production by any party - its legacy was secured by only the 11 completed prototypes.
There was also a proposed self-propelled anti-aircraft (SPAA) variant of the Tamoyo tank planned, this utilizing the tracked chassis and hull of the Tamoyo while the turret would have been replaced by a system mounting 2 x Bofors 40mm L/70 cannons. As a tracked system, the vehicle would roughly the same off-road capbilities of the parent Tamoyo.
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