Navy Contracts: Nuclear Submarine Construction in Brazil
In 2008, Naval Group was selected by Brasília to deliver four diesel-electric Scorpène submarines to the Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) and to participate in the construction of a nuclear attack submarine (SNA) under the PROSUB (Programa de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos) contract, valued at €6.7 billion.
To facilitate extensive technology and industrial know-how transfers, Naval Group partnered with the Brazilian group Odebrecht to establish the joint venture Itaguaí Construções Navais, responsible for constructing the five submarines in Brazil.
Since then, the first two Scorpène submarines, S-40 Riachuelo and S-41 Humaitá, have been commissioned into service with the Marinha do Brasil. The third submarine, S-42 Tonelero, is completing sea trials, while the construction of the last one, S-43 Amiral Karam (formerly Angostura), is ongoing.
The construction of the conventionally armed nuclear submarine, referred to in Brazilian naval terminology, commenced in June 2024, marked by the cutting of the first steel plate by Itaguaí Construções Navais.
The nuclear propulsion system for the future submarine, named Almirante Álvaro Alberto, is under the jurisdiction of the General Directorate for Nuclear and Technological Development of the Brazilian Navy (DGDNTM). Nonetheless, it has recently awarded two new contracts to the French industrial group, totaling €528.4 million.
Both contracts were confirmed by the Official Gazette of the Union on August 28. The first contract, valued at €246.3 million, pertains to specific engineering services for the electromechanical assembly of the Controlled Auxiliary Power Plant (PAC) at the Nuclear Production Laboratory (LABGENE), which is responsible for testing all possible operational conditions of a nuclear power plant, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense.
Located in Aramar, São Paulo, LABGENE is described as “one of the pillars of the Navy’s nuclear program,” according to the specialized Brazilian site Poder Naval. It “validates, in a controlled environment, the operation, safety systems, and electricity production of the reactor before its installation aboard the submarine,” it adds.
The second contract, amounting to €282 million and valid for 54 months, involves the provision of technical services and advice for additional systems dedicated to the future Almirante Álvaro Alberto.
During an official visit to Brasília in March 2024, President Macron pledged France’s support for the Brazilian program. “I hope we can open the chapter for new submarines, the fourth, the fifth, but […] that we face nuclear propulsion while fully respecting all the most rigorous non-proliferation commitments,” he stated. He added, “This framework exists, is possible. You want it. France will be by your side.”