ICN press release issued in Portuguese – Translation by Naval News
This morning (4/10), the ICN and the Brazilian Navy held the Cutting Ceremony of the 1st plate of the Qualification Section of the Conventionally Armed Nuclear Powered Submarine (SCPN) Álvaro Alberto, whose name honors Admiral Árvaro Alberto, one of the first scholars in the field of nuclear energy in Brazil. The cut represents a historic milestone in the constructive process of PROSUB’s main goal, the nuclear-powered submarine.
The Chief Executive Officer of ICN Renaud Poyet, alongside the Director General of Nuclear Development and Technology of the Navy, Admiral Petrônio Augusto Siqueira de Aguiar, and the General Coordinator of the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Development Program, Vice Admiral Sydney Santos Neves, activated the cutting machine, representing the beginning of a new construction stage.
“This milestone is a source of great pride for me and for all ICN employees. The construction of the Qualification Section precedes the construction of the first section, which could effectively be part of the submarine’s resistant hull: A step that will raise our technology to the level of countries such as France, the United States, China, England and Russia. And the Brazilian Navy, in command of this modern means, will have all the conditions to protect the vast Brazilian coast. I am very happy to be part of this day together with all those responsible for achieving this great achievement.”
Renaud Poyet, Director President of the ICN
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Naval News comments:
According to H I Sutton, the future SN-10 Álvaro Alberto SSN of the Brazilian Navy will have an (estimated) length of 100 meters, a complement of 100 sailors and feature a sail similar to those of the Scorpene-class.
The original program to develop a Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine dates back to the 1970ies. Actual work on the SN-10 started in July 2012 but has been plagued by many fiscal delays. Planned use for this SSN is to protect Brazil’s vast maritime territory, the so called “Blue Amazon”
As we reported previously, the Brazilian Navy, in its acquisition plan, expressed a need for a total of four nuclear-powered submarine. The current contract calls for the construction of the first one. The basic design of SN-BR was approved in November 2020 in presence of French authorities.
About PROSUB / SN-BR / SCPN
For the record, the PROSUB program calls for the design and construction of four Riachuelo-class conventional submarines (SB-R), the design of the future nuclear-powered submarine (SCPN, formerly known as SN-BR) and the design of a naval base in ItaguaÏ. French shipbuilder Naval Group is assisting Brazil in all steps of the PROSUB program (the conventional submarines, the naval base and the non nuclear aspects of the SCPN).
Regarding the conventional submarine, the Riachuelo (S40) was launched on December 14 2018 and started its trials in September 2019. It was commissioned with the Brazilian Navy in September 2022. The launch of the second submarine of the class, Humaitá (S41) took place 11 December 2020 and is set to be commissioned at the end of this year.
The Álvaro Alberto, the first Brazilian submarine with nuclear propulsion (SCPN), is due to be launched in 2031. The SN-BR, as well as the incorporation of the four Riachuelo-class submarines will increase the capacity of the Brazilian Navy to respond efficiently to the enormous challenge of controlling and protecting the “Blue Amazon”, which represents one third of the country’s borders.