Brazil starts operating first Riachuelo-class submarine
Commissioning ceremony in Itaguaí, Rio de Janeiro state. (Photo: Brazilian Navy)
The new SSK will support the protection of a 5.7 million km² area known as the Blue Amazon.
The Brazilian Navy conduct on 1st September the commissioning ceremony of its first Riachuelo-class submarine in Itaguaí (Rio de Janeiro state). The eponymous lead boat is a diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK) that will operate off the Brazilian coast to support the protection of a 5.7 million km² area known as the Blue Amazon.
A press release issued by the Brazilian Navy noted that it will increase ‘the deterrent power of the Brazilian Armed Forces’.
The Brazilian Navy noted that, Riachuelo-class submarines are more versatile than the boats it already operates and ‘are considered operationally superior to several submarines currently available in the world’.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that Riachuelo-class SSKs are based on the Scorpene design from French shipbuilder Naval Group and feature six 533 mm torpedo tubes that can host F21 torpedoes or Exocet SM39 Block 2 Mod 2 anti-ship missiles.
This system was designed to replace the ageing Tupi and Tikuna-class systems and was acquired under the PROSUB programme, which comprises the procurement of five new submarines (four SSKs and one nuclear-powered).
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