Construction of the Brazilian Navy’s fourth Tamandaré-class frigate has begun at TKMS Estaleiro Brasil Sul in Itajaí in southern Brazil.
The latest milestone means that work on four of the eight planned warships in the class is under way at the Santa Catarina shipyard.
TKMS won the $2.2 bn contract to build the ships in 2019; they are variants of its MEKO A-100 design. The ships are 107 metres long, displace 3,500 tonnes, and can sail at up to 25 knots.
The frigates will feature a 12-cell vertical launch system (VLS) for Sea Ceptor air-defence missiles as well as eight MANSUP anti-ship cruise missiles. They will also be able to fire Mk54 torpedoes.
Their flight decks can accommodate a medium-sized helicopter such as the Sikorsky Seahawk or Airbus H225M, and an uncrewed aerial system (UAS), likely an Insitu ScanEagle.
First-in-class vessel Tamandaré has already undergone a series of sea trials and is expected to enter service in the first half of this year.
The second, Jerônimo de Albuquerque, was launched in August 2025 and her own sea trials are scheduled for mid-2026. The third frigate, Cunha Moreira, is on track to be launched in the middle of this year.
The fourth frigate, upon which work has just begun, will be called the Mariz e Barros. She is expected to be launched in 2027 and commissioned into active service during 2029.
Shipyard CEO Holger Tepper commented: “From an industrial standpoint, the start of construction of the fourth frigate reinforces our shipyard’s capacity to operate at scale and with high technological standards, translating the pillars of the PFCT (Brazilian Shipyard Program) into the generation of highly qualified jobs, the strengthening of national industry, and the consolidation of complex processes with a lasting impact on the country.”
- You can read more details on the Brazilian Navy website