MBDA has been awarded a contract to equip the Brazilian Navy’s new Tamandaré-class frigates with the Sea Ceptor air defence missile system. The Tamandaré class are a new class of future general purpose frigates for the Brazilian Navy, based on the MEKO family of ships. The project is being developed by the Ministry of Defence and the Ãguas Azuis consortium, composed of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and Embraer Defense & Security.
The construction of the four planned new Tamandaré-class frigates will begin in 2021 and are scheduled to be delivered between 2025 and 2028. The plan required projects with the following armaments and specifications OTO Melara 76 mm main gun, minimum eight VLS Sea Ceptor CAMM missile cells, a Rheinmetall Sea Snake 30mm machine gun, two .50 machine guns, two triple Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo launchers and two twin anti-ship missile launchers for MANSUP missile.
Sea Ceptor is a smart weapon control system (WCS) that together with the fully-active Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) provides comprehensive self-defence and local area air defence (LAAD). This will enable Brazil’s Tamandaré-class frigates to protect themselves, consorts and fixed infrastructure against the full range of threat types at sea or in harbour, and in the most stressing operational scenarios. Capable of multiple channels of fire, the system will also counter saturation attacks.
The weapon system can be easily retrofitted into a wide range of platforms, ranging from 50m OPVs to frigates and destroyers. Two main features provide this flexibility. Sea Ceptor is in operational service with the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, and has been selected for the new Type 26 and Type 31 frigates. Brazil joins Chile, New Zealand and Canada in a growing list of international Sea Ceptor users. The CAMM missile has also been delivered to the British Army in the Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) role.
