Tamandaré-class frigate. The Tamandaré class is a series of stealth frigates under construction for the Brazilian Navy since 2022, based on the MEKO family of warships. The project was developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in partnership with Embraer Defense and Security. As of 2024, four ships have been ordered, with other four planned as a second batch.

History
In 2017 the program was created with the main purpose of replacing all the current major surface combatants of the  frigates in operation since 1975, the  boats acquired second-hand from the United Kingdom in the 1990s, and the  corvettes. Several companies from seventeen countries entered in the competition opened by the Ministry of Defence, offering different types of projects and offset packages. The list of all participating companies was released on 16 May 2017.

After more than a year of studies by the Directorate of Program Management of the Navy and the Naval Projects Management Company, the short-list of the finalist projects was released in October 2018, the selected projects were: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and the MEKO A-100, the Sigma-class of Damen Group, the Gowind-class of Naval Group and Fincantieri with Brazilian Navy's indigenous project variant.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems with a 3,500-ton MEKO A-100-class variant was declared winner in March 2019, with the contract for the first batch of four units signed on 6 March 2020. In January 2021, ThyssenKrupp confirmed the acquisition of the Oceana shipyard in Itajaí, becoming the company's first shipyard in Latin America, with the objective of building the new Brazilian frigates. The construction of the lead ship, Tamandaré, started in September 2022 and the launch ceremony of the boat took place in August 2024. 

The Brazilian Navy announced plans to build a second batch of four more units in August 2024, confirming the National Maritime Strategy published by the MoD in 2023. As of November 2023, each ship of the first batch cost around €518 million, the total program cost was reported €2.75 billion, incremented by R&D costs of €750 million.

Design
The class was based on the MEKO family of warships, a concept of modern naval shipbuilding based on modularity of armament, electronics and other equipment, aiming at ease of maintenance and cost reduction. Designed as multi-mission vessels, the class is able to fulfill the anti-aircraft warfare role with GWS-35 vertical launching system surface-to-air missiles cells, anti-surface warfare with the Brazilian MANSUP missiles, and anti-submarine warfare. The class was developed with the two island philosophy.

Tamandaré is equipped with the Hensoldt TRS-4D active electronically scanned array radar, able to track 1,500 targets at a range of up to . The combat management system (CMS) and the integrated platform management system (IPMS), designed by Atech, a subsidiary of Embraer, are a version derived from the Atlas ANCS and L3 Mapps, exclusively designed to meet the Brazilian requirements. Rheinmetall, a German defense company, is responsible for the supply of its new close-in weapon system, Sea Snake, armed with a 30 mm revolver cannon with ABM (air burst ammunition) capability. The MAGE Defensor suite responsible for the electronic warfare support measures (ESM), electronic countermeasure (ECM) and the electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) systems of the class, was developed by the Brazilian company Omnisys. The class is fitted for, but not equipped with land-attack cruise missiles.

Participation of Brazilian companies
Like other major defense programs in the country, the government demanded the construction of the ships in Brazil, the participation of Brazilian companies in the industrial process and the transfer of technologies. Embraer, along its subsidiary Atech, are responsible for the integration of systems and sensors of the class, other companies like Akaer are involved in the industrial process, nationalizing components and parts of the structure to reduce costs and foreign dependence. Around 40% of each ship's parts are produced in the country.

Ships of the class
The ships are named after key people in the history of the Imperial Brazilian Navy.

See also

 (South Korea)
 (Singapore)
 (United States)
 (Norway)
 (Turkey)
Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (France)

Future of the Brazilian Armed Forces

References

Tamandaré-class frigates
Frigate classes
Stealth ships
Ships built in Brazil