PROSUB programme passes new milestone
Second of four Riachuelo-class boats is launched in Brazil
The second Riachuelo-class submarine for the Brazilian Navy, Humaitá, was launched on 11 December in a ceremony at Itaguaí Naval Base attended by President Jair Bolsonaro.
At the same time, the navy announced that sections of the third boat in the PROSUB programme, Tonelero, have been integrated ahead of its planned launch in December 2021. The fourth Riachuelo-class submarine, Angostura, is being assembled before its scheduled launch in December 2022; and work is under way on developing a prototype propulsion system for Álvaro Alberto, which will be the first nuclear-powered submarine for the Brazilian Navy when it is launched in the late 2020s.
Displacing 1,870t, the 71.6m-long Riachuelo class is a larger variant of the Scorpene design and are customised for Brazilian Navy operations with an ASW, ASuW, intelligence and special operations capability.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, weapon systems include six 533 mm torpedo tubes that can host F21 torpedoes or Exocet SM39 Block 2 Mod 2 anti-ship missiles.
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