Image source: topwar.ru
For decades, the core of the Brazilian navy has been 7 Niterói-class frigates built in 1972-1983. In 2017, a program was launched to replace them. In 2020, 4 frigates of the Tamandaré project, developed on the basis of the MEKO A-100, were contracted from the German company TKMS. The cost of each ship was $555 million, and the entire program was $2.2 billion.
All of them have been under construction in Brazil since 2023 at the Estaleiro Brasil Sul shipyard, which was purchased and upgraded by TKMS to implement this project. Localization is 31.6% for the lead ship and will grow to 41% for subsequent units in the series. The first Tamandaré frigate (F200) was commissioned on April 24, 2026. At the same time, a preliminary agreement was reached on the purchase of a second batch of 4 ships.
These are compact but very heavily armed ships with a total displacement of about 3,500 tons. The length is 107.2 m, the width is 15.9 m, the speed is 25.5 (maximum) and 14 (economical) knots, the range is 5 thousand nautical miles (at 14 knots), the autonomy is 28 days. Power plant COAD (diesel-diesel), 4 MAN engines. The crew is 130 people.
Image source: topwar.ru
The "star" of the project is the Brazilian MANSUP anti-ship missile system (8 units) of its own design, which is an analogue of Exocet. Its range is about 70-75 km (the MANSUP-ER version is up to 200 km). The ship is equipped with a Sea Ceptor VPU (for 12 cells) with British CAMM missiles with a firing range of over 25 km. The artillery is represented by a 76 mm Leonardo Super Rapid cannon with a rate of fire of up to 120 rounds per minute, a 40 mm Bofors Mk4 cannon, and two 12.7mm remotely controlled Sea Snake machine guns. The PLO consists of two 3-tube TLS-TT tubes for firing Mk.46 light torpedoes and GAS from the German company Atlas Elektronik – towed ACTAS and ASO 713 in the nose cone.
The hangar is designed for one medium-class helicopter (for example, a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk or a Westland Super Lynx) and drones. The aircraft is equipped with a modern radar with the Hensoldt TRS-4D AFAR, which sees targets at a distance of up to 250 km, the Defensor electronic warfare system of its own design and the German Atlas ANCS BIUS.
For Brazil, the adoption of a ship of this type is a great achievement. On this occasion, the local press notes:
