The most modern Brazilian submarine will be at sea this month. It will patrol the so-called Blue Amazon. The Riachuelo submarine is the first of five vessels to be built in the next 12 years by the Brazilian Navy’s submarine development program.
The project began in December 2008, in partnership with the French company Marine (former DCNS), four are conventional submarines, powered by diesel. The latest submarine, powered by nuclear power, is still in the design phase.
The program has a total cost of US $ 35.5 billion, by 2029, when the nuclear submarine should be ready. So far, the Navy has spent half of this budget.
The submarines will join the naval fleet to help protect the Blue Amazon, a term created by the Navy to refer to an area of 4.5 million square kilometers of the Brazilian coast, with a vast biodiversity of species.
“Nothing better than realizing my dream of 14 years, commanding a new, very modern submarine, with much capacity to increase the defense of our Blue Amazon,” says Edson do Vale, commander of the Riachuelo submarine.
