Brazilian submarine Álvaro Alberto
{{redirect|Álvaro Alberto|other uses}}
{{short description|Brazilian nuclear submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| infobox caption = Nuclear attack submarine Álvaro Alberto }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = SSN Alvaro Alberto.jpg | Ship caption = Model of the submarine, 2024 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = Brazil | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Brazil}} | Ship name = Álvaro Alberto | Ship namesake = Álvaro Alberto da Motta e Silva | Ship owner = | Ship operator = | Ship registry = | Ship route = | Ship ordered = 23 December 2008 | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = ICN | Ship original cost = $3.8 billion (2018 budget report, construction plus R&D costs, at 2024 exchange rate) | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 2029 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 2032 to 2034 | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = Madeira Island | Ship identification = SN10 | Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship status = Under construction | Ship fate = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship type = Nuclear attack submarine | Ship tonnage = | Ship displacement = {{convert|6000|t|LT|abbr=on}} | Ship length = {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|9.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion =
| Ship sail plan = | Ship speed = {{convert|25|kn | lk=in}}
| Ship range = Unlimited range, up to 25 years (nuclear fuel) | Ship endurance = | Ship test depth = | Ship boats = | Ship capacity = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = 100 | Ship crew = | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors =
| Ship EW =
| Ship armament =
| Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = Sources:{{cite news|title=PROSUB: NUCLEP e ICN avançam na construção do Submarino Nuclear Brasileiro|url=https://www.naval.com.br/blog/2019/08/02/prosub-nuclep-e-icn-avancam-na-construcao-do-submarino-nuclear-brasileiro|language=pt|agency=Poder Naval|date=2 August 2019}}{{cite news |title=Submarino Nuclear Brasileiro|url=https://www.marinha.mil.br/ctmsp/submarino-nuclear|language=pt|accessdate=4 August 2019}}{{cite news |title=Programa Nuclear da Marinha|url=https://www.marinha.mil.br/ctmsp/programa-nuclear-da-marinha|language=pt|accessdate=3 August 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/business/convenio-busca-locais-para-a-instalacao-de-novas-usinas-nucleares-no-brasil/|title=Convênio busca locais para a instalação de novas usinas nucleares no Brasil|website=CNN Brazil|language=pt|date=15 January 2022}} }} |
Álvaro Alberto, Brazil's first nuclear-powered submarine, is the fifth unit of the {{sclass|Riachuelo|submarine|4}} based on the French {{sclass2|Scorpène|submarine|4}} and is part of a strategic partnership signed between France and Brazil on 23 December 2008 that created the Submarine Development Program.{{cite news |title=Base de submarino nuclear começará a ser construída em fevereiro|url=http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/base-de-submarino-nuclear-comecara-a-ser-construida-em-fevereiro,f4a84bc92690b310VgnCLD200000bbcceb0aRCRD.html|publisher=Terra|language=pt|date=30 January 2010}}{{cite news |title=Brazil launches first of five navy attack submarines|url=https://www.efe.com/efe/english/world/brazil-launches-first-of-5-navy-attack-submarines/50000262-3843389|publisher=EFE|date=14 December 2019}}{{cite news |title=Brazil take first step in program to join nuclear-powered sub club|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-submarine/brazil-take-first-step-in-program-to-join-nuclear-powered-sub-club-idUSKBN1OD2CV|publisher=Reuters|date=14 December 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2015/decreto/D8630.htm |title=DECRETO Nº 8.630, DE 30 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2015 |date=30 December 2008 |publisher=Brazil Gov |access-date=25 January 2022}}{{cite web|url=http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/585/ |title=First Steel Cut for Brazilian Submarine Programme |author=Nicolas von Kospot |date=2 June 2010 |publisher=www.defpro.com |access-date=7 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717063952/http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/585/ |archive-date=July 17, 2011 }}{{cite news |title=O Prosub e o submarino nuclear brasileiro SN-BR|trans-title=The PROSUB and the Brazilian nuclear submarine SN-BR|url=https://www.naval.com.br/blog/2018/02/20/o-prosub-e-o-submarino-nuclear-brasileiro-sn-br/|date=20 February 2018|website=Poder Naval}}{{cite news |title=Brasil lanzó al mar un ultramoderno submarino para vigilar sus aguas|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2202630-brasil-lanzo-al-mar-ultramoderno-submarino-vigilar|publisher=La Nacion|language=es|date=14 December 2019}} The submarine was named after the former Vice Admiral and scientist Álvaro Alberto da Motta e Silva, who was the responsible for the implementation of the country's nuclear program. He also served as President of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission between 1946–47, and as President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences for two terms.{{cite news |title=Um cientista, uma história, Almirante Álvaro Alberto da Motta e Silva|url=https://www.defesaaereanaval.com.br/defesa/um-cientista-uma-historia-almirante-alvaro-alberto-da-mota-e-silva|website=Defesa Aérea & Naval|language=pt|date=10 December 2015}}{{cite news |title=Álvaro Alberto da Mota e Silva|url=http://www.abc.org.br/membro/alvaro-alberto-da-motta-e-silva|website=Academia Brasileira de Ciências|language=pt|accessdate=5 August 2019}}
Development
The beginning of the project for the domain of the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear reactors took place in 1979, in that year, under the military regime with leadership of the Army General Ernesto Geisel and later General João Figueiredo, two enthusiasts of the nuclear technology,{{cite news|title=Documentos apontam corrida nuclear na América Latina durante a ditadura |url=https://oglobo.globo.com/politica/documentos-apontam-corrida-nuclear-na-america-latina-durante-ditadura-11956778|website=O Globo |date=23 March 2014}} the government secretly joined the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research of São Paulo where it started to work in the most ambitious military program to date. In 1982, the scientists won its first major victory after adopting the ultracentrifugation technique for enrichment and learning about the uranium hexafluoride technology in the city of Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais. In the same year, the project researchers achieved isotopic uranium enrichment with centrifuges built entirely in Brazil. Over a period of approximately 20 years, the country acquired the full nuclear fuel cycle and was able to begin the construction of the naval nuclear reactor.{{cite news |title=O mais longo de todos os programas – parte 1|url=http://www.naval.com.br/blog/2009/12/02/o-mais-longo-de-todos-os-programas|language=pt|website=Poder Naval|date=2 December 2009}}
On 23 December 2008, Brazil purchased four Scorpène class conventionally-powered submarines from France in a deal of US$10 billion (equivalent to US$14 billion in 2024), with a total technology transfer agreement, giving to the country the knowledge for the design and construction of modern submarine hulls.{{cite news |title=Novos submarinos da MB: Senado aprova o empréstimo de 4,32 bilhões de euros|url=https://www.naval.com.br/blog/2009/09/02/novos-submarinos-da-mb-senado-aprova-o-emprestimo|language=pt|date=2 September 2009}} The project was initiated in 2010 through the Submarine Development Program, with the Madeira Island base in Rio de Janeiro as the submarine development and manufacturing point. Between 2010 and 2012, a group of 31 engineers, 25 military officers and 6 civil employees, received theoretical training by the DCNS in Cherbourg. In 2018, more than 400 Brazilian engineers worked on the nuclear submarine project staff, originally formed by the group that received training in France.{{cite news |title=O Prosub|url=https://www.marinha.mil.br/prosub/institucional|language=pt|accessdate=3 August 2019}} The first Brazilian Scorpène-class submarine, {{ship|Brazilian submarine|Riachuelo|S40|2}}, was launched on 14 December 2018, with the second unit {{ship|Brazilian submarine|Humaitá|S41|2}} in 2020 and the third unit {{ship|Brazilian submarine|Tonelero|S42|2}} in 2024. The fourth {{ship|Brazilian submarine|Almirante Karam|S43|2}} is planned for 2025.{{cite news |title=Com Temer e Bolsonaro, Marinha lança submarino Riachuelo|url=https://veja.abril.com.br/brasil/marinha-lanca-novo-submarino-riachuelo|publisher=Veja|language=pt|date=14 December 2019}}
In 2018, after many years and a series of problems, delays in federal funding and program freezes, the prototype of the naval nuclear reactor, known internally as the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor was launched, by the state-owned nuclear company Nuclebrás.{{cite news |title=LABGENE: Conhecendo a planta nuclear do Submarino de propulsão Nuclear brasileiro|url=https://www.defesaaereanaval.com.br/naval/labgene-conhecendo-a-planta-nuclear-do-submarino-de-propulsao-nuclear-brasileiro|website=Defesa Aérea & Naval|language=pt|date=30 August 2018}} In 2020, the General Directorate of Nuclear and Technological Development of the Navy, authorized the production and testing of uranium dioxide pellets for zircaloy rods, essential for pressurized water reactors.{{cite news |title=La Marina de Brasil avanza en el desarrollo y producción de combustible nuclear |url=https://www.zona-militar.com/2022/01/06/la-marina-de-brasil-avanza-en-el-desarrollo-y-produccion-de-combustible-nuclear/|website=Zona Militar|language=es|date=6 January 2022}} The production of nuclear fuel for the Álvaro Alberto started in December 2021. On 6 June 2022, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, stated that Brazil has initiated formal discussions with IAEA about Alvaro Alberto's nuclear fuel inspections by the international agency.{{cite news |title=IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors|url=https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/iaea-director-generals-introductory-statement-to-the-board-of-governors-6-june-2022|website=International Atomic Energy Agency|date=6 June 2022}} The construction of the boat officially started on 12 June 2024, with the ceremony of the first steel cut of the hull. The launch is expected for 2029 with more three or four years of sea trials until the commissioning between 2032 and 2034.{{cite news |title=La Marina de Brasil se alista para iniciar la construcción del submarino nuclear Álvaro Alberto en el año 2025|url=https://www.zona-militar.com/2024/06/25/la-marina-de-brasil-se-alista-para-iniciar-la-construccion-del-submarino-nuclear-alvaro-alberto-en-el-ano-2025/|language=es|access-date=25 June 2024|website=Zona Militar}}{{cite news |title=Brazilian SSN Alvaro Alberto to be commissioned in 2034|url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/june/10251-brazilian-ssn-alvaro-alberto-to-be-commissioned-in-2034.html|date=4 June 2021|website=Navy Recognition}}
Construction programme
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;" |
| valign=top
! | Hull number ! | Name ! | Builder ! | First steel cut ! | Laid down ! | Launched ! | Commissioned ! | Estimated cost |
| valign=top
| | SN10 | | Álvaro Alberto | | ICN | | 2029 (expected){{cite news |title=Launch prediction|url=https://www.marinha.mil.br/programas-estrategicos/prosub|language=pt|access-date=25 January 2022|website=Marinha do Brasil}} |
Strategic rationale
In the Brazilian doctrine, the raison d'etre of the national defense strategy is to develop deterrence capability against a possible hostile force to the national territory.{{cite news |title=Estratégia Nacional de Defesa|url=https://www.defesa.gov.br/estado-e-defesa/politica-nacional-de-defesa|website=Ministério da Defesa do Brasil|language=pt|accessdate=7 September 2019}} The country understands that with its future nuclear fleet, at least some of its weapons will be able to survive the first strike of an enemy and prevent further attempts at aggression.{{cite news|title=Brazilian Navy - Marinha do Brasil - Modernization|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/brazil/navy-mods.htm|accessdate=5 March 2020|website=GlobalSecurity.org}} Another stated reason is to defend the resource-rich "Blue Amazon", the country's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Richard|chapter=PROSUB: building Brazil's future submarine capability|year=2019|title=Seaforth World Naval Review 2020|editor=Conrad Waters|publisher=Pen & Sword|isbn=978-1-5267-6064-7}} p. 185.{{Cite book|last=Ventura|first=Victor Alencar Mayer Feitosa|year=2020|title=Environmental Jurisdiction in the Law of the Sea: the Brazilian Blue Amazon|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-030-50543-1}} p. 279-283.
=Nuclear policy=
File:Bolsonaro visita ao Laboratório de Geração de Energia Nucleoelétrica - LABGENE.jpg with the prototype of the naval nuclear reactor]]
The country has a policy of no nuclear weapons since the 1990s.{{cite news |title=Presidency of the Republic, Deputy Chief of Legal Affairs - Decree No. 2864 from 7 December 1998|url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/d2864.htm|website=Presidency of the Republic|date=7 December 1998}} Nonetheless, experts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have concluded that Brazil developed the technological capability to produce first generation nuclear warheads.[http://www.defesanet.com.br/docs1/ruhle_brazil_nuclear.pdf Brazil and the Bomb] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601142555/http://www.defesanet.com.br/docs1/ruhle_brazil_nuclear.pdf |date=2010-06-01 }} German Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved on 2011-10-23. If the country's current policy on this type of armament should change, Brazil would be able to produce highly enriched uranium using centrifuges like Resende for this type of armament.[http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/how-brazil-spun-the-atom How Brazil Spun the Atom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822151614/http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/how-brazil-spun-the-atom# |date=2009-08-22 }} Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Retrieved on 2010-10-06.[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/brazil/resende.htm Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): Resende Nuclear Fuel Factory (FCN)] Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2010-10-06. Instead, the country opted for working on the development of a nuclear submarine fleet.{{cite news |title=Brazilian nuclear policy under Bolsonaro: no nuclear weapons, but a nuclear submarine|url=https://thebulletin.org/2019/04/brazilian-nuclear-policy-under-bolsonaro|website=The Bulletin|date=12 April 2019}} So far in the naval history, only the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom, plus India – all nuclear-weapon states – have operated & developed nuclear submarines.{{cite news |title=Brazil initiates talks with IAEA on fuel for planned nuclear submarine|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/brazil-initiates-talks-with-iaea-fuel-planned-nuclear-submarine-2022-06-06/|website=Reuters|date=June 6, 2022}} The organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists described Brazil as "the only non-nuclear weapon state on the verge of launching a nuclear-powered submarine". Carlo Patti, author of Brazil in the Global Nuclear Order, told newspaper The Economist, that Brazil's nuclear pursuit placed the country "in the threshold between being a nuclear state and not being a nuclear state".{{cite news |title=Brazil might get nuclear-powered submarines even before Australia|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/brazil-might-get-nuclear-powered-submarines-even-before-australia/21805075|website=Economist|date=September 30, 2021 |url-access= subscription}} That policy, say experts, turned Brazil independent in the nuclear technology's field and allowed to "keep its international reputation as a responsible power among institutions for nuclear nonproliferation".
=International reactions=
File:Cerimônia de Lançamento ao Mar do Submarino "Tonelero" - 2024 (53615478680).jpg praised the program]]
The program have sparked diverse international reactions regarding the purpose over the years, for example, for {{ill|Hans Rühle|de}}, former Director of the Planning Staff of the German Ministry of Defense and NATO official, also former Chief of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, "Brazil is almost certainly developing nuclear weapons, as the submarine program is clearly a cover for a nuclear bomb program" adding that "all Brazilian military officials basically agreed that the country needs a nuclear test at some point to proof their new capabilities".
For the Center for Security Studies of the Georgetown University in Washington D.C., "Brazil appears to be counting on its new submarine to fulfills a long-held ambition for great power status, challenging nonproliferation norms, without making tough foreign policy decisions or building a convincing military strategic case".{{cite web |title=The Strategic Rationale for Brazil’s Nuclear Submarine Does Not Hold Water|url=https://georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2023/11/21/the-strategic-rationale-for-brazils-nuclear-submarine-does-not-hold-water/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914232328/https://georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2023/11/21/the-strategic-rationale-for-brazils-nuclear-submarine-does-not-hold-water/|date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=14 September 2024|language=en|website=Georgetown University}}
The French President Emmanuel Macron praised the program during the launch of the submarine Tonelero, one of the conventional units of the French-Brazilian partnership, and stated that the development shows that Brazil and France, "two international and peaceful great powers who reject being lackeys in a world divided between two blocks, must recognize that in this increasingly disorganized world, we must be able to speak of firmness and strength and know how to defend the international order with credibility" and that "only with peace we can built balance, but this requires us to be militarily stronger".{{cite web |title=Somos as potências que não querem ser os lacaios de outros, diz Macron ao lado de Lula no Rio|trans-title=We are the powers that do not want to be the lackeys of others, says Macron alongside Lula in Rio|url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mundo/2024/03/somos-as-potencias-que-nao-querem-ser-os-lacaios-de-outros-diz-macron-ao-lado-de-lula-no-rio.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614071452/https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mundo/2024/03/somos-as-potencias-que-nao-querem-ser-os-lacaios-de-outros-diz-macron-ao-lado-de-lula-no-rio.shtml|date=27 March 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024|language=pt|website=Folha de S.Paulo}}
Espionage allegations
In March 2022, The New York Times newspaper reported that US Navy employee Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana had approached the Brazilian embassy in Washington, with an offer to sell nuclear secrets about the {{sclass|Virginia|submarine|1}} to Brazilian military to aid in the development of the country's nuclear submarine program. Brazilian authorities then informed the FBI, which conducted an investigation culminating in the Toebbe's arrest for espionage; they pleaded guilty. Neither the American nor the Brazilian government have confirmed or denied the report.{{Cite news |title=Submarine Spy Couple Tried to Sell Nuclear Secrets to Brazil |last1=Barnes |first1=Julian E. |last2=Spigariol |first2=André |last3=Nicas |first3=Jack |last4=Goldman |first4=Adam |newspaper=New York Times |date=15 March 2022 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/15/us/politics/submarine-spy-brazil.html }}{{cite news| last=Yang | first=Maya | title=Brazil was alleged intended recipient of US couple's nuclear submarine secrets |newspaper=The Guardian | date=16 March 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/us-couple-nuclear-submarine-secrets-brazil-jonathan-diana-toebbe}}
References
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{{Current SSN}}
{{Brazilian Scorpène class submarines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Álvaro Alberto}}
Category:Riachuelo-class submarine
Category:Ships built in Brazil