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This Friday, Brazil received its second Franco-Brazilian submarine with which it will protect its 8,500 km of coastline as part of the military cooperation agreement signed between the two countries in 2008.
Following the first submarine in the series, named Riachuelo, which entered service in September 2022, the Humaitá submarine was officially inducted into the Brazilian fleet during a ceremony at the Itaguai naval base, near Rio de Janeiro.
The submarine deliveries “enhance Brazil's reputation as an increasingly relevant player on the international stage,” Brazilian Defense Minister José Mucio said at the inauguration, according to a note from his department. French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain attended the event.
The Humaitá will help “protect our wealth,” Martim Bezerra de Morais Junior, commander of the new ship, told reporters, citing patrols off the coast where Brazil produces most of its oil.
Equipped with heavy torpedoes and missiles, the Scorpène-type submarine measures more than 70 meters and weighs more than two tons.
The conventionally powered submarine was built under the responsibility of the Brazilian Navy at the Itaguai base.
The French company Naval Group also intervened in the process through the Brazilian company Itaguai Construçoes Navais (ICN), which it owns together with the Brazilian company Novonor (formerly Odebrecht).
Submarine materials are manufactured at Naval Group factories in France before being shipped to Brazil.
Two other submarines that the Brazilian Navy has also ordered from Naval Group are under construction in Itaguai and are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The French DCNS, predecessor of the Naval Group, received a contract worth 6.7 billion euros in 2009 for the technology transfer and construction of the Itaguai shipyard.
The Naval Group is also developing a nuclear submarine for Brazil.
The Franco-Brazilian strategic defense agreement was signed in 2008 by then-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – who returned to power in 2023 – and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy.
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