Brazilian Navy orders MBDA’s Sea Ceptor for new frigates

European defence company MBDA has been awarded a contract to equip the Brazilian Navy’s new Tamandaré-class frigates with the Sea Ceptor air defence missile system.

As explained, Sea Ceptor is a smart weapon control system (WCS) that together with the fully-active common anti-air modular missile (CAMM) provides comprehensive self-defence and local area air defence (LAAD).

This will enable Brazil’s Tamandaré-class frigates to protect themselves, consorts and fixed infrastructure against the full range of threat types at sea or in harbour, and in the most stressing operational scenarios.

Sea Ceptor is in operational service with the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, and has been selected for the new Type 26 and Type 31 frigates. Brazil joins Chile, New Zealand and Canada in a growing list of international Sea Ceptor users. The CAMM missile has also been delivered to the British Army in the Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) role.

In 2019, Brazil selected the Águas Azuis Consortium as the preferred bidder for the construction of the Brazilian Navy’s Tamandaré-class corvettes.

The consortium, formed by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Embraer Defense & Security and Atech, will build a total of four ships under the program which will cost up to $1.6 billion.

To be constructed in Brazil, the Tamandaré-class ships are planned for delivery between 2025 and 2028. According to Brazilian Navy specifications, the corvettes will measure 107,2 meters in length and will displace 3,455 tons.