TSAMTO, March 29th. The launching ceremony of the third (out of four ordered for the Brazilian Navy) took place at the Itaguai Naval Shipyard on March 27 The Riachuelo class NAPL (a modified version of the Scorpen NAPL).
According to the French shipbuilding company Naval Group, the event took place in the presence of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Tonelero submarine (S42) was built entirely in Brazil by Itaguai Construcoes Navais (ICN) after the transfer of the necessary technologies and in partnership with the Naval Group.
As planned, sea trials of the Tonelero will begin in the near future, and its transfer to the Brazilian Navy is scheduled for 2025. The launch of the last submarine of the series, (S43) Angostura, will take place in 2025.
As reported by CAMTO, the construction of the Riachuelo-class submarines is carried out within the framework of the PROSUB program (Program de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos), which began in 2008, the cost of which is estimated at 30 billion rials ($9.5 billion).
At the end of 2008, a contract was signed with the French DCNS (now Naval Goup) for the design and construction of four submarines with a non-nuclear power plant S-BR (Submarino BRasileiro) as part of an agreement on technology transfer, technical assistance in the design and construction of non-nuclear parts of the first nuclear submarine SN-BR (Submarino Nuclear BRasileiro), the construction of a new shipyard with the UFEM metal structures manufacturing enterprise, a naval base to support a nuclear submarine, the supply of 30 heavy F21 torpedoes and 50 false targets "Canto-S" (Canto-S). The NAPS will be built on the basis of Naval Goup's Scorpen submarine project, adapted to the requirements of the Brazilian Navy. The contract came into force in October 2009.
The joint venture ICN (Itaguai Construcoes Navais), formed by French Naval Goup and Brazilian Odebrecht (now Novonor), is to provide the Brazilian Navy with four nuclear submarines (Riachuelo (S40), Umaita (S41), Tonelero (S42) and Angostura (S43)), as well as one nuclear the submarine Almirante Alvaro Alberto (SN10). Naval Group provided the NAF project, transferred the necessary technologies, equipment and provided technical assistance to ICN. ICN specialists have been trained in France.
Initially, it was assumed that the NAPS would be put into service in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2025, respectively. However, due to changes to the project and funding problems, the program fell behind schedule.
The launch of the lead submarine of the series, (S40) "Riachuelo", sections of which were built in France and Brazil, took place on December 14, 2018. She was commissioned into the Brazilian Navy in September 2022. On January 12, 2024, Naval Group transferred the second Riachuelo-class (S41) Umaita to the Brazilian Navy.
The last submarine, the Angostura (S43), is being assembled at a facility built by ICN in Itaguai (Rio de Janeiro). It will be delivered to the Brazilian Navy in 2026.
The S-BR is designed to perform various tasks, including anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare, support for special operations and intelligence gathering. The Brazilian submarine is larger in length and displacement than the Scorpen submarine, which allows you to take on board more food and fuel and stay at sea for a longer time.
The length of the hull is 71.62 m, width – 6.2 m, displacement – 1870 tons, crew – 32 people. The NAF is equipped with four MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engines and one Jeumont-Schneider EPM Magtronic electric motor, can reach a speed of 21 knots underwater, a range of 6,000 nautical miles at a speed of 8 knots on the surface and 550 nautical miles at a speed of 4 knots underwater. The maximum diving depth is 400 m, and the autonomy is 45 days.
The armament includes six 533 mm torpedo tubes with heavy F21 torpedoes developed by Naval Group and SM39 Block-2 Mod anti-ship missiles.2 "Exocet" of the MBDA group. Up to 18 weapons (torpedoes, missiles) can be placed on board. The NAF is equipped with the latest generation SUBTICS combat control system.