In January, the first conventional submarine Riachuelo (S-BR) was transferred to the UFEM of the Complex of Itaguaí. The following month, in the presence of President Michel Temer, the final assembly of the naval assets began, which will be launched this year at sea. Also, for 2018, the completion of the construction yard is expected. The completion of the Maintenance and Naval Base should take place in 2020, and the Radiological Complex in 2026.
The year 2018 will be important in many ways for the Navy’s nuclear projects, which will soon inaugurate a cascade with more modern ultracentrifuges. The equipment developed by the Navy are used by Nuclear Industries of Brazil (INB) to produce the fuel of the Angra dos Reis (RJ) plants. And in the second half, the installation and commissioning of the waterfall 8 is also planned.
The Navy intends to celebrate the 30 years of uranium enrichment by ultracentrifugation with a big event. At first, the meeting is scheduled for July at the Nuclear Industrial Center of Aramar (CINA), located in the city of Iperó. On that occasion, the cornerstone of the facilities of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB) will be launched, whose facilities will be next to CINA. The technical work of this reactor is coordinated by the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), in partnership with the Navy, through Amazul and the Pátria Foundation. The RMB is another great project of interest for Brazil, because it will make the country self-sufficient in the production of radioisotopes, used in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.
The body within the Navy responsible for the strategy of its scientific, technological and innovation activities is the General Directorate for Nuclear and Technological Development, commanded by Bento Costa Lima Leite de Albuquerque Junior.
