Brazilian shipbuilder TKMS Estaleiro Brasil Sul has launched a new stealth frigate slated for the Brazilian Navy.
The future Cunha Moreira is the third ship belonging to the locally built Tamandaré-class. Like class lead ship Tamandaré, she will have a length of 107.2 metres, a beam of 16 metres, a draught of 5.2 metres, a displacement of 3,500 tonnes, and space for 130 crewmembers.
Four MAN and four Caterpillar engines in a combined diesel and diesel arrangement will drive two five-bladed controllable-pitch propellers to deliver a maximum speed of 25.5 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 14 knots.
The frigate's armament will include a 76mm naval gun, a 30mm close-in weapon system, two 12.7mm machine guns on remote weapon stations, 12 surface-to-air missiles housed in a vertical launch system, 12 anti-ship missiles, a decoy countermeasures launcher, and torpedoes that are to be fired from port and starboard triple launchers.
Cunha Moreira will be used for both territorial defence – encompassing anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare – and humanitarian aid missions.
Although built in Brazil to comply with Brazilian Government requirements for major defence programs, the Tamandaré-class ships are based on the MEKO A-100 frigate originally developed by Germany, making the Brazilian Navy the second export customer of the sub-type (the MEKO A-100 also served as the basis for the Polish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel ORP Ślązak).