According to information published by the Argentine MoD on April 13, 2023, during his tour of Brazil, Defense Minister Jorge Taiana visited the "Itaguaí Construcciones Navales (ICN)" shipyard.
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Brazilian submarine Riachuelo. (Picture source: Naval Group)
The state-owned defense company specializes in naval nuclear engineering for the construction of submarines and is located in Itaguaí, a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Together with the Chief of the Argentine Navy, Admiral Julio Guardia, and TANDANOR authorities, Taiana was able to learn about the construction process of the "Scorpene" class submarine, one of the models Argentina is considering to regain its submarine capacity.
In July 2022, Taiana led a tour of France and Germany where he visited the shipyards of Naval Group and Thyssenkrupp to evaluate and learn about production processes, financing conditions, and technology transfer with Argentine participation through the Tandanor shipyard.
Itaguaí was founded in 2009 with the goal of consolidating naval modernization of the armed forces in Brazil following cooperation agreements signed between Nicolas Sarkozy and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the construction of four submarines, as well as to receive technology transfer of French diesel-electric submarines.
Since 2010, the shipyard staff received theoretical and technological training in France, and that same year, the construction of the first of the four Brazilian Scorpene-class submarines began.
In 2012, the pieces for the construction of the vessels were transferred from France and integrated with those built by the ICN. By 2013, the development and manufacture of parts began to be entirely in Brazil, leading to the construction of the second submarine.
In 2017 and 2018, construction of the Tonelero and Angostura submarines began, and in 2020, the ICN and the Brazilian Navy inaugurated the Submarine Base on Madeira Island, with the goal of continuing the construction of "Scorpene" submarines, as well as the construction of the nuclear submarine fleet, beginning with the Alvaro Alberto submarine, which by 2029 will be Brazil's first nuclear-powered attack submarine.
Scorpene class
The Brazilian variant of the Scorpene-class submarine is a type of submarine that has a displacement of 1,900 long tons and a length of 70.62 meters. She is powered by four MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engines, one Jeumont-Schneider EPM Magtronic electric motor, and has a maximum speed of 21 knots when surfaced or submerged.
Her range is 6,000 nautical miles when traveling at 8 knots when surfaced, and 550 nautical miles at 4 knots when submerged. The submarine has a complement of 32 crew members and is equipped with a DCNS Submarine Tactical Information and Command System, Thales DR 3000 ESM receiver, ITT AR 900, TSM 2233 Eledone, Safare & S-Cube, and DCNS Contralto-V. Her armament includes six 533 mm torpedo tubes, eight SM-39 Exocet or MANSUP anti-ship missiles, 18 F21 heavy torpedoes, and 30 naval mines.
