Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil - MdB) commander Admiral Julio Soares de Moura Neto reaffirmed on 12 December long-term plans to boost the country's naval power to eventually include 15 conventional and six nuclear-powered submarines.
"Our aim is to propel Brazil forward into the 21st century with a more well-equipped navy supported by a stronger defence industry," Adm de Moura Neto told IHS Jane's at the recent inauguration ceremony of the main facility built for Brazil's submarine development programme (Programa de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos, or PROSUB) at Itaguaí Shipyard, Rio de Janeiro.
"PROSUB is the most ambitious contemporary development of the Brazilian Navy, representing a substantial investment in the country through technology transfer, professional training, and regional growth through the generation of income," he said.
Dilma Rousseff, who presided over the inauguration, stressed the importance of modernising the MdB to ensure the country's sovereignty.
Built under the guidance of DCNS, the new submarine facility is the result of a partnership between Brazil and France providing for the construction of a naval shipyard, a submarine base, and four Scorpène diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) under a technology transfer agreement. The partnership also includes technical assistance for the design and construction of the non-nuclear portions of the Brazilian Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine (SSN). The new building is designed to allow simultaneous construction of two submarines.
Under current planning, the first SSK (or S-BR) is scheduled to be completed in late 2016 and to enter service around mid-2018 following trials and testing. The remaining three are scheduled to be completed by 2022. Construction of an SSN (SN-BR) is expected to begin in 2017, with completion in 2023 and entry into service around 2025 after testing and trials.
In February 2015 sections 1 and 2 of the first S-BR are scheduled for completion, including fitting of all embedded equipment such as electrical, electronic, and hydraulic systems. Sections 3 and 4 were built in France and have already been transported to Itaguaí. After the installation of the internal components in the four sections, the first S-BR will be welded together.
The PROSUB industrial complex represents a tangible increase in shipbuilding activity, generating thousands of direct and indirect jobs with involvement from hundreds of domestic defence industry suppliers.
The building of the first SSN will signal a major technological leap forward for Brazil, placing it in a select group of five countries - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - that dominate the world's building of nuclear-powered submarines.
In all, the PROSUB programme has received investments totalling BRL34 billion (USD12.5 billion).
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