The Brazilian Navy began construction of the fourth Tamandaré-class frigate, F203 Mariz e Barros, during a cutting ceremony held at the Estaleiro Brasil Sul shipyard in Itajaí, Santa Catarina state.
The shipyard belongs to the German company TKMS and operates in Brazil through Estaleiro Brasil Sul.
The event was announced by Brazilian Navy and took place with the participation of the Director of Naval Program Management, Vice Admiral Marcelo da Silva Gomes, who launched the cutting machine, symbolizing the formal start of construction of the new frigate at the shipyard TKMS w Itají.
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According to the program schedule, F203 is scheduled to be launched in 2027 and commissioned in the Brazilian Navy in 2029. The start of construction of the fourth ship means that the Estaleiro Brasil Sul shipyard has reached the peak of its production capacity, with the simultaneous construction of the first four frigates in the country. At the same time, the level of domestic production under the program has already reached 40%.
The lead ship of the series, Tamandaré (F200), was launched in August 2024, conducted sea acceptance trials between August and December 2025, and is scheduled to be transferred to the operational Naval Command in the first half of 2026. The second unit, F201 Jerônimo de Albuquerque, is scheduled to begin sea trials in mid-2026, while the third, F202 Cunha Moreira, is scheduled for launch in July 2026.
Typu Tamandaré fregata
In March 2020, after an international tender procedure launched in 2013, the Brazilian Navy signed a contract worth 9.1 billion reais for the construction of four ships under the Tamandaré program, initially classified as corvettes and then reclassified as frigates. The project is based on the MEKO A100 design presented by TKMS.
Tamandaré-class frigates have a standard displacement of 3,380 tons and a maximum displacement of up to 3,500 tons. The ships are 107.2 meters long, 16 meters wide and have a draft of 5.2 meters. The drive system consists of two shafts driven by four MAN 12V 28/33 DSTC diesel engines, each with a power of 7,320 HP.
Planned armament includes anti-ship missiles MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 2 lub 3 or a domestic missile MANSUP; 12-cell vertical launcher of the MBDA Sea Ceptor medium-range air defense system with CAMM missiles; 76 mm/62 Leonardo OTO Melara Super Rapid naval gun; 30 mm Rheinmetall Sea Snake 30 remotely controlled cannon; two remotely controlled 12.7 mm FN Herstal Sea Defender machine guns; two 7.62 mm M134 six-barreled machine guns; as well as two triple 324 mm SEA TLS-TLT anti-submarine torpedo tubes.
There is also a hangar and a landing pad on board enabling continuous operation of the anti-submarine helicopter Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk the Westland Super Lynx Mk 21Bwhich significantly increases the ship’s anti-submarine and maritime surveillance capabilities.
Source and photos: Brazilian Navy. The content was developed with the support of artificial intelligence and verified by the editorial team.
