found it had little competition in selling armored vehicles to that country's armed forces. Chile obligingly placed an order for 37 Urutus in 1975. The importance with which Engesa regarded this order was highlighted by its prioritization of the Chilean purchase in production, with domestic orders to the Brazilian Army being temporarily sidelined. In 1976, more Cascavels and Urutus were delivered to Chile than were in service with the entire Brazilian armed forces at the time. Chile retired its Urutus in 2002 and sold off its entire fleet to an Israeli defense contractor for re-export. Engesa's largest success in the export market came in the 1970s from Libya, which ordered 200 Cascavels as part of an arms deal worth $100 million. The Cascavel's combat debut in the 1977 Libyan–Egyptian War aroused international interest in Engesa armored vehicles, especially in the Middle East, and a number of Arab states such as Iraq dispatched military missions to Brazil that year to evaluate them. The Iraqi Army subsequently placed an order for 100 Urutus. Libya ordered more Cascavels and 180 Urutus in 1981. In time, these two nations became the largest single operators of the vehicle type, each holding hundreds of Urutus in service. Libya deployed its Urutus extensively during the Chadian–Libyan conflict, most often during mechanized operations in support of National Liberation Front of Chad (FROLINAT) rebels. To downplay the extent of overt Libyan involvement, the Urutus were typically stationed near FROLINAT posts and presented to the press as FROLINAT vehicles. Prior to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Army had 100 Urutus remaining in service, although it is unclear how many were in reserve storage or operational. Some were apparently restored to service by Libyan militias during the civil war and retrofitted with BM-11 multiple rocket launchers. The Urutu was deployed by both sides during the Iran–Iraq War. Most of the Iraqi Urutus were assigned to individual brigades of the Republican Guard during that conflict. It is unclear where Iran obtained its Urutu fleet; while most would appear to have been captured from Iraq, French historian Pierre Razoux asserted that at least some of the Iranian Urutus were acquired directly through Brazil. Another possibility is that the Urutus were transferred to Iran by a third party. No restrictive conditions were placed on the re-sale or transfer of Engesa products purchased by Libya, allowing that country to re-export Cascavels and Urutus