Brazil has been pursuing an ambition that no other Latin American country has managed to pursue for almost half a century: developing its own nuclear-powered submarine. This objective takes shape around the “Álvaro Alberto”, a project that combines specialized infrastructure, technology transfer and a naval nuclear program that launched late 1970s. It is not an operational submarine nor an immediate advance, but it is a plan with specific pieces in place that explain why the country has located itself in a terrain reserved for very few countries in the world. The official documentation places its launch in 2023. It is a work forecast within the program calendar, not a closed guarantee.
The initiative aims at a submarine significantly more complex than the diesel-electric propulsion ones used by the region. It is a platform that will combine its own nuclear reactor with combat systems and sensors derived from those used in conventional Riachuelo class submarines, developed from the Scorpène family, but adapted to a larger hull in length and displacement. It is a conventionally armed attack submarine, with nuclear propulsion but without nuclear weapons, in line with the non-proliferation commitments assumed by Brazil. Nuclear propulsion would allow operation without the need to go to the surface to recharge batteries, expanding the range and discretion in prolonged missions, and according to data released by Nuclep, the state company that manufactures part of the hull, the design will be around 100 meters in length and 6,000 tons in displacement.
Half a century to reach a Brazilian nuclear submarine
The Brazilian nuclear submarine project is better understood if we go back to the 1970s, when the Navy began its own program to master the fuel cycle and develop nuclear technology applied to propulsion. That effort was born with the idea of reduce external dependencies and guarantee that Brazil could advance in sensitive areas without being conditioned by foreign suppliers. Over time, the Marinha Nuclear Program was consolidated, which laid the foundations for designing a naval reactor autonomously. This line of work is what, decades later, leads to the current attempt to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
The current structure of the project cannot be understood without PROSUB, the program signed with France in 2008 that promoted the construction of shipyards, docks and specialized workshops in Itaguaí. Thanks to that agreement, Brazil incorporated technologies from the Scorpène family and formed teams capable of producing advanced conventional submarines. The Riachuelo class units served as an industrial and operational learning stage, showing that the country could undertake a complex construction process. This journey is what allows us to consider the transition towards a nuclear-powered submarine developed in Brazilian territory.
A Riachuelo-class submarine
The concept of Blue Amazon summarizes the importance that Brazil gives to its maritime space, an area of millions of square kilometers where strategic resources and key routes are concentrated. Surveillance of this environment requires means capable of operate for long periods without depending on stopovers or frequent recharges. The infrastructure developed in Itaguaí, together with the support network deployed on the coast, provides the logistical base for this type of operations. In this framework, the Navy considers that a nuclear-powered submarine would provide the necessary autonomy to reinforce its presence in the South Atlantic.
Before there is an operational submarine, Brazil must demonstrate that it can safely integrate a naval reactor, and that work is being done in the LABGENE, a land module that reproduces the key systems of the future “Álvaro Alberto”. The prototype incorporates a pressurized water reactor of national design and uses fuel produced by the nuclear program itself under international supervision. Testing the plant on land allows failures to be identified and performance optimized without the risks that would entail doing so inside the hull. This phase constitutes the most demanding technical element of the project.
The current situation of the “Álvaro Alberto” reflects a balance between what has already been built and what has yet to be completed. On the one hand, Brazil has a defined design in its master lines, an industrial chain capaz to produce sections of the submarine and nuclear development that progresses within the facilities planned for it. On the other hand, the final integration of the reactor, propulsion systems and hull will require time, testing and independent supervision. The program advances with a gradual logic, typical of a project that aspires to a technological level unprecedented in the region.
If the project is completed, Brazil would become part of the small group of countries capable of operating a nuclear-powered submarine, a leap that would have a clear impact on the naval balance of the South Atlantic. It would also be the first ship of this type in Latin America, a circumstance that reinforces the strategic weight of the program and explains the sustained interest of the Navy. This progress, however, is conditioned by political continuity, non-proliferation commitments and the costs associated with maintaining such a specialized industrial chain for decades. The result will depend on the country’s ability to sustain that effort in the long term.
Images | Brazilian Navy (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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