Brazil hires the construction of four new frigates



The Brazilian government signed on Thursday a contract for about 1.9 billion dollars for which it entrusted the construction of four new and modern war frigates to a consortium composed of the German Thyssenkrupp Marine System and the Brazilian Embraer and Atech.

The signing ceremony for the construction of the so-called "Classe Tamandaré" ships was held in Rio de Janeiro and was attended by the Brazilian Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo, the portfolio said in a statement.

This is the first contract for the acquisition of large military vessels signed by the Government of the current Brazilian president, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in January 2019 with the promise of modernizing the Brazilian Armed Forces.

The contract was signed by Emgepron, a state company linked to the Ministry of Defense through the Navy, and the consortium "Aguas Azules", led by Thyssenkrupp and completed by the two Brazilian companies, which expired the respective tender.

Although the project was initially designed for the construction of four escort corvettes, the modifications negotiated with the contractors, which raised the weight of the vessels from 2,500 to 3,500 tons, led the Government to choose to entrust the development of frigates, more appropriate For your needs.

According to a statement by Embraer Defesa & Segurança, the forecast is that the four ships of Classe Tamandaré last generation will be built 100% in a shipyard in Itajaí, municipality in the southern state of Santa Catarina, and delivered between 2025 and 2028

The first of the four vessels will have 30% local content, a percentage that will rise to 40% for the other three.

"These are ships with high combat power, capable of protecting the vast Brazilian maritime area, with more than 5,700 square kilometers; search and rescue operations and meet international commitments, among other tasks," according to the Ministry of Defense.

The consortium responsible for the construction pledged to set up modern vessels for Brazil from adaptations of the German Meko A100 type corvettes, which are already operated by 15 countries, including Australia, Argentina, Portugal and Greece.

The ships will have 107.2 meters in length, 5.2 meters of draft, a displacement of 3,455 tons and an economic speed of 14 knots, among other features.

Embraer will be responsible for the integration of sensors and armaments into the ship's combat system.

And Atech, a subsidiary of Embraer, will be responsible for the development of the Combat Management System of the four vessels in association with Atlas Elektronik, a subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp.

"We appreciate being able to participate in such an important framework in the history of Brazilian naval defense with the most advanced ships of its kind," said Rolf Wirtz, president of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, at the contract signing ceremony.

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