Brazilian naval shipbuilder TKMS Estaleiro Brasil Sul recently held a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction of the Brazilian Navy's fourth Tamandaré-class stealth frigate.
Like her sisters, the future Mariz e Barros is being built by Águas Azuis, a consortium formed by German defence shipbuilder TKMS (via subsidiary TKMS Estaleiro Brasil Sul), Embraer Defense and Security, and Atech.
TKMS said the Tamandaré-class frigate program aims to modernise and strengthen the operational capabilities of the Brazilian Navy with modern ships that feature local components. Tamandaré, the class lead ship, was delivered in 2025 and will be commissioned into service before the end of January 2026.
Once in service, the frigate will be used for both territorial defence – encompassing anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare – and humanitarian aid missions.
Upon completion, the ship 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 armament will include a Leonardo 76mm naval gun, a Rheinmetall Sea Snake 30mm close-in weapon system, two FN Herstal Sea Defender 12.7mm machine guns on remote weapon stations, 12 Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missiles housed in a vertical launch system, 12 anti-ship missiles, a Terma C-Guard decoy launcher, and torpedoes that are to be fired from port and starboard triple launchers.
The anti-ship missile selected for use on the frigate is the MANSUP, a new missile co-developed by the Brazilian Navy.
The ship can also be outfitted to launch land attack cruise missiles in the future.
