Brazil’s Navy commissioned its first locally built Tamandaré-class multi-purpose light frigate, F Tamandaré, on 24 April at the Naval Base of Rio de Janeiro. On the same day, the Brazilian Navy signed a memorandum of understanding aboard the ship with Embraer and TKMS that outlines a possible purchase of four more ships.
F Tamandaré at Rio de Janeiro
The commissioning puts one Tamandaré-class frigate into Brazilian Navy service for the first time. F Tamandaré carries a Leonardo OTO 76/62 Super Rapido 76 mm gun system, a Rheinmetall SeaSnake 30 remotely-controlled close-in weapon system with a 30 mm automatic cannon, and two SEA TLS-TT triple torpedo launch systems for the RTX MK 54 lightweight torpedo.
The ship also carries two Terma C-Guard decoy launch systems, two twin-mounted missile launchers for MBDA Exocet MM40 or SIATT MANSUP anti-ship missiles, the MBDA Sea Ceptor medium-range air defense system for the CAMM surface-to-air missile, and two FN Herstal Sea DeFNder remotely-controlled weapon stations armed with 12.7 mm machine guns.
Embraer and TKMS memorandum
The Ministry of Defence, through the Brazilian Navy, signed the memorandum with Embraer and TKMS aboard F Tamandaré. The document outlines the potential acquisition of four more Tamandaré-class ships, but a contract date has not been determined and negotiations with the contractor still need to be undertaken.
Fleet Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen said, “Four future Tamandaré-class ships are to include new and updated capabilities.” That leaves the Navy with a first ship in service and a proposed follow-on order that still has to move from memorandum to contract.
Marcos Sampaio Olsen’s update
Olsen’s remarks point to an expansion of the class rather than a finished procurement package. For Brazilian readers tracking the Navy’s modernization, the practical change is immediate on the waterfront at Rio de Janeiro, while the larger fleet decision still depends on talks with the contractor.
The ship’s commissioning is the fixed outcome; the four additional ships remain a potential acquisition tied to future negotiations. That makes 24 April the date when Brazil’s first locally built Tamandaré-class frigate entered service and when the next phase of the program was put on paper, not yet in contract form.
