Germany and Brazil have signed an agreement to procure an additional four Tamandaré-class frigates for the Brazilian Navy.
Águas Azuis — a joint venture of TKMS, Embraer Defence & Security, and Atech — will carry out the construction in Brazilian shipyards. The consortium is also responsible for building the first batch.
“A binational consortium is building four Tamandaré-class frigates for delivery by 2028. Here in Hannover, we advanced talks on the acquisition of four more units,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was quoted as saying following his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Hannover, Germany.
Days after the announcement, the Brazilian Navy commissioned the first Tamandaré-class frigate, the F200, into service.
Tamandaré Program
Led by the Brazilian Navy, managed by EMGEPRON (Naval Projects Management Company), and executed by Águas Azuis, the program was signed in March 2020 for 9.1 billion Brazilian reals ($1.82 billion).
It aims to replace the Niterói-class frigates, in service since 1975, the Broadsword-class (Type 22) frigates acquired second-hand from the UK in the 1990s, and the Inhaúma-class corvettes.
The Tamandaré class is a Brazilian adaptation of the MEKO A-100 design developed by TKMS.
Each vessel measures 107 meters (351 feet) in length, has a beam of 16 meters (52 feet), displaces around 3,500 tonnes, and accommodates a crew of approximately 130 personnel.
The frigates carry a 76mm gun, a 30mm close-in weapon system, two 12.7mm remote machine guns, anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, and torpedoes, along with a flight deck for a medium helicopter or unmanned aerial system.
