Tamandaré-class frigate

The Tamandaré class are a new class of future general purpose frigates for the Brazilian Navy, based on the MEKO family of ships. The project is being developed by the Ministry of Defence and the Águas Azuis consortium, composed of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and Embraer Defense and Security. The construction of the four planned frigates will begin in 2021 and are scheduled to be delivered between 2025 and 2028.[1]

Tamandaré class profile
Class overview
Name: Tamandaré class
Builders: Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems
Operators: Brazilian Navy
Preceded by: Niterói class
Cost: € 2 billion (program cost)[1]
Planned: 4[1]
General characteristics
Type: General purpose frigate
Displacement: 3,500 tonnes[1]
Length: 107.2 m (351 ft 8 in)[1]
Beam: 15.95 m (52 ft 4 in)[1]
Draft: 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)[1]
Propulsion:
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) economic[2]
Range: 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi)[3]
Complement: 136[4]
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		 Terma C-Guard decoy launching system[2]
Armament:
Aircraft carried:

Program history

The program called "Construction of the Naval Power Nucleus" (naval plan to modernize the Brazilian Navy) was created in 2017 with the main purpose of replacing the Niterói-class frigates in operation since 1975 and the Type 22 acquired second-hand from the United Kingdom in the 1990s.[6][7]

Several companies from seventeen countries entered in the competition opened by the Ministry of Defense, offering different types of projects and offset packages.[8] On 16 May 2017, the list of all participating companies was released.[8]

On 15 October 2018, after more than a year of studies by the Directorate of Program Management of the Navy (DGePM) and the Naval Projects Management Company (EMGEPRON), the short-list of the finalist projects was released, the selected projects were:[9]

  • Águas Azuis consortium, composed of TKMS, Embraer Defense and Security, Atech and the Oceana shipyard, with a proposed MEKO A-100-class corvette, extended and rearmed;
  • Damen-Saab Tamandaré consortium composed of Damen Schelde, Saab AB, Consub Defense and Technology and the Wilson Sons shipyard, with the Sigma-class corvette;
  • FLV consortium with Fincantieri, Leonardo and Vard Promar shipyard, proposing a version of EMGEPROM's indigenous project;
  • Villegagnon consortium with Naval Group, Mectron and Enseada Indústria Naval shipyard, with Gowind-class corvette.

On 28 March 2019, the winning project was presented, the Águas Azuis consortium led by TKMS with a project of the 3,500-ton MEKO A-100-class corvette.[10] In April of the same year, the project was renamed from corvette to frigate.[11]

The contract of € 2 billion,[1] was signed between the Brazilian government and the winning consortium on 6 March 2020, with the start of construction of the first of the four frigates planned for 2021.[12] The Brazilian Navy plans to order two more class frigates, extending the total to six ships.[13]

In January 2021, TKMS confirmed the acquisition of the Oceana shipyard in Itajaí, becoming the company's first shipyard in Latin America, with the objective of building the new Brazilian frigates, and future sales to other navies in the region.[14]

The specifications for the new class of frigates were defined by the Brazilian Navy through the Directorate of Program Management of the Navy (DGePM) and the Naval Projects Management Company (EMGEPRON), in addition to replacing the oldest ships in the fleet, aims to protect of the so-called Blue Amazon (Portuguese: A Amazônia Azul), a resource-rich area covering about 4.5 million square kilometers off the Brazilian coast, conduct search and rescue operations and meet international commitments, among other tasks.[5]

The plan required projects with the following armaments and specifications: unit price between € 300-450 million, OTO Melara 76 mm main gun, minimum eight VLS Sea Ceptor CAMM missile cells, Bofors 40 mm gun, two .50 machine guns, two triple Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo launchers and two twin anti-ship missile launchers for MBDA Exocet MM40 block I-III or MANSUP. In addition to a propulsion system for diesel engines and a hangar capable of operating a SH-60 Seahawk, Super Lynx Mk.21B or Eurocopter EC725.[5]

The winning consortium will have to build the four ships in Brazil, in addition to transferring 100% of the project's technology (ToT) to the Brazilian Navy.[5]

Thyssenkrupp project

The Águas Azuis consortium, led by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems presented its frigate proposal, based on the original design of the MEKO A-100 corvette, the project had an extended tonnage from 2,000 to 3,500 tons, length increase, several new state-of-the-art systems such as BAE Systems Type 997 Artisan 3D radar, weapons and fire control, thus allowing the ship to gain muscle to carry out oceanic crossings in the stormy South Atlantic, in addition, of course, carrying powerful armaments that would guarantee its versatility. The TKMS also presented offsets to the Brazilian Navy, such as the remotorization of the Tupi-class submarines built by the same company in the 1980s and 1990s.[13]

Atech, an Embraer Group company, will be the supplier of the CMS (Combat Management System) and IPMS (Integrated Platform Management System).[15] Other aspects of the project that led to the winning bid are the similarities with the MEKO A-200 frigate class and its modular construction system, allowing versatility in future updates.

The Brazilian Navy also plans to build 7,000-ton destroyers after the delivery of the new frigates, and TKMS presented to the Navy its most modern 7,200-ton MEKO A-400 air defense destroyer, an updated version of the German F-125-class frigates. The similarities between the projects and the high rate of commonality between requirements were also crucial for the consortium's victory.[13][16]

Units

There are four units of the class planned.[6][17]

Pennant No. Name Builder Laid Down Launched Commissioned Status
F35 Tamandaré[1] TKMS, Itajaí 2021 2025 2026 Planned[1]
F36 Jerônimo de Albuquerque[1] TBD 2026 2027 Planned[1]
F37 Cunha Moreira[1] TBD 2027 2028 Planned[1]
F38 Mariz e Barros[1] TBD 2028 2029 Planned[1]

See also

References
  1. "Marinha compra quatro fragatas por R$ 9,1 bilhões". UOL (in Portuguese). 4 March 2020.
  2. "Projeto Classe Tamandaré: Marinha do Brasil seleciona a melhor oferta". Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 28 March 2020.
  3. "Euronaval 2014: características das corvetas 'Tamandaré' e do NPaOc-BR". Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 29 October 2014.
  4. "CCT - Fragatas Tamandaré Contrato de R$ 9,1 Bi". Defesa Net (in Portuguese). 5 March 2020.
  5. "Classe Corveta Tamandaré - As corvetas podem virar fragatas". Defesa Net (in Portuguese). 10 January 2018.
  6. "Projetos estratégicos da Marinha". Marinha do Brasil (in Portuguese).
  7. "Segundo o site Alide, navios da classe Tamandaré já têm nome". Poder Naval (in Portuguese).
  8. "Classe Tamandaré - Marinha do Brasil encerra a primeira etapa do projeto de obtenção". Defesa Net (in Portuguese). 16 May 2017.
  9. "Marinha do Brasil divulga short-list do Projeto classe Tamandaré". Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 15 October 2018.
  10. "Projeto Classe Tamandaré Marinha do Brasil seleciona a melhor oferta". Marinha do Brasil (in Portuguese). 28 March 2019.
  11. "Corvetas classe Tamandaré serão redesignadas como Fragatas". Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 2 April 2019.
  12. "Marinha realiza Cerimônia de Assinatura do Contrato de Construção das Fragatas Classe Tamandaré". Defesa Aérea e Naval (in Portuguese). 5 March 2020.
  13. "EXCLUSIVO: Marinha já planeja a quinta Tamandaré". Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 28 December 2019.
  14. "Estaleiro responsável por construir as fragatas Classe Tamandaré agora é thyssenkrupp Estaleiro Brasil Sul". Defesa Aérea & Naval (in Portuguese). 12 January 2021.
  15. "Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Embraer and Atech sign a contract to build Brazilian". TKMS. 5 March 2020.
  16. "CCT – thyssenkrupp Marine Systems - Dr Rolf Wirtz: O nosso diferencial é a Qualidade do Produto". Defesa Net (in Portuguese). 9 January 2019.
  17. "Programa Classe Tamandaré". Marinha do Brasil (in Portuguese).
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