Brazilian Navy launches 3rd Submarine of the Submarines Obtaining Program (PROSUB) to the sea next week in Itaguaí (RJ), Brazil. “Tonelero” is 100% manufactured in Brazil and will integrate the means of Naval Power for defense of the Blue Amazon Photo- submarine S-41 Humaita launched earlier by Brazilian Navy
First Lieutenant (T) Ohana Gonçalves
Rio de janeiro, RJO
Brazilian Navy News Agency
DefesaNet Note
Text of Brazilian Navy translated to Portuguese and English
Portuguese
PROSUB – S-42 Tonelero será lançado na próxima semana
English – Inglês
PROSUB – S-42 Tonelero will be launched next week
Submarine “Tonelero” (S42) will be baptized and launched to the sea next Wednesday (27), in Itaguaí shipyard, Rio de Janeiro. The event will mark the provision of the third Conventional Submarine with Diesel-Elect Electric Propulsion (S-BR), built entirely in Brazil, within the scope of the Submarine Development Program (PROSUB), which is the result of a strategic partnership signed in 2008 between Brazil and France for the transfer of technology in the manufacture of vessels.
The President of the Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is expected to be present at the Launch to the Sea Ceremony, accompanied by the President of France, Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron.
The Brazilian first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, will be the godmother of baptism of the new submarine of the Brazilian Navy (MB), which will contribute to the defense of the homeland and the Blue Amazon.
PROSUB has accumulated several benefits for the country since its creation, such as: generation of employment and income; specialized labor training; technological drag; nationalization and technology transfer; and the development of the Defense Industrial Base.
A modern way of deterrence
Submarines equipped with modern sensors, missiles and torpedoes, as is the case of new Brazilian submarines built under PROSUB, have high deterrent capacity because they are lethal weapons of difficult location when submerged. The possibility of the presence of submarines in a maritime area forces an opposing naval force to mobilize many means and efforts for the location and combat of these stealth vessels.
The “Tonelero” project incorporates the modernity of French Scorpene-class vessels, with adaptations and increments to meet the specific needs of Brazilian Navys operations. Bigger than the French model, the “Tonelero” is more than 71 meters long and has submerged displacement of 1,870 tons. After being placed in the water, the “Tonelero” will start the testing process to assess the conditions of stability at sea and the navigation and combat systems.
In order to protect the Blue Amazon (Brazilian interest sea zone) and guarantee Brazilian sovereignty at sea, the Brazilian Navy has sought to invest in the expansion of the Naval Force and the development of the defense industry. The National Defense Strategy, launched in 2008, established that Brazil had a “wide wingspan naval force”, which motivated the design of PROSUB with the construction of four submarines with diesel-electric propulsion in national territory, which in addition to the modernization of the Submarine Force of MB, would provide the training of the country for the construction of its first conventionally armed submarine with nuclear propulsion.
Since then, in addition to the “Tonelero”, the submarines Riachuelo“Riachuelo” (S40) and the “Humaitá” (S41) have been ready. The delivery of another conventional submarine, the “Angostura” (S43) and the manufacture of the Brazilian submarine conventionally armed with nuclear propulsion, the “Alvaro Alberto” (1), are still planned, which will represent an unprecedented increase in the deterrent and technological level of the National Defense. (1 – Former Navy officer that helped to start Brazilian Nuclear Program).
Benefits of PROSUB for Brazil and the population
By prioritizing the acquisition of national products and systems throughout the production chain, PROSUB fosters the development of Brazilian industries in the defense area, encompassing sectors such as electronics, mechanical (thin and heavy), electromechanics and chemistry, in addition to the naval area. In this way, it contributes to the economic growth of the country, as well as the generation of 22 thousand direct jobs and almost 40 thousand indirect jobs.
PROSUB also includes the construction of the industrial infrastructure complex and support for the operation of submarines, which covers shipyards, naval bases and the Metal Structures Manufacturing Unit in Itaguaí (RJ), as well as testing and testing laboratories for various applications.
Due to the transfer of technology between the countries involved, Brazil will have the ability to design, build, operate and maintain its own conventional submarines and with nuclear propulsion. The technological drag, provided by the development and improvement of embedded technologies in the submarine, will stimulate not only the defense area, but also civilian national sectors in the fields of Science, Technology and Innovation. In a long-term perspective, Brazil may mitigate its dependence on external contribution to its submarine projects, and may even generate opportunities for export of these technologies.
