Tamandaré-class (MEKO A-100)

The Tamandaré class is a series of stealth frigates built for the Brazilian Navy by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in association with the defence division of Embraer, at Itajaí in Santa Catarina. The design derives from the Blohm+Voss MEKO family, and the class entered service in 2026.

The programme was launched in 2017 to replace the Niterói-class frigates in service since 1975, the Broadsword-class ships bought second-hand from the United Kingdom in the 1990s, and the Inhaúma-class corvettes. Companies from seventeen countries responded to the Ministry of Defence competition, the full list of entrants being published on 16 May 2017. After evaluation by the Navy's Directorate of Program Management and the Naval Projects Management Company, four finalists were announced in October 2018: the ThyssenKrupp MEKO A-100, the Damen Sigma class, the Naval Group Gowind class, and a Fincantieri offer based on an indigenous Brazilian Navy design. ThyssenKrupp's 3,500-tonne MEKO A-100 variant was selected in March 2019, and a contract for the first four units was signed on 6 March 2020. In January 2021 ThyssenKrupp acquired the Oceana shipyard at Itajaí, its first yard in Latin America. Construction of the lead ship, Tamandaré, began in September 2022, and she was launched in August 2024. As of November 2023 each Batch 1 ship cost about US$555 million (R$2.77 billion), against a reported programme total of US$2.2 billion.

A second batch of four ships, foreseen in the National Maritime Strategy of 2023, was announced in August 2024 and confirmed in February 2026. On 20 April 2026 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the four additional units, with the German and Brazilian defence ministries signing an agreement the same day. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Brazilian Navy, TKMS and Embraer followed on 24 April 2026, with an estimated value of US$2 billion (R$10 billion). Batch 2 ships may carry a 200 km extended-range variant of the Brazilian MANSUP anti-ship missile and the Strales system with DART guided ammunition for the Oto Melara 76 mm gun.

The MEKO concept applies modularity to armament, electronics and other equipment to simplify maintenance and reduce cost, and the frigates follow the two-island superstructure philosophy. They are multi-mission ships, armed with Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missiles for anti-aircraft warfare, MANSUP missiles for anti-surface warfare, and equipped for anti-submarine warfare. Sensors include the Hensoldt TRS-4D active electronically scanned array radar, credited with tracking 1,000 targets out to 250 km. The combat management system and integrated platform management system come from Atech, an Embraer subsidiary, and derive from the Atlas ANCS and L3 Mapps systems. Rheinmetall supplies the Sea Snake close-in weapon system with a 30 mm revolver cannon firing air-burst ammunition, while Omnisys of Brazil provides the MAGE Defensor ESM, ECM and ELINT suite. Navigation uses the Anschütz SYNAPSIS Integrated Navigation and Bridge System. The ships are fitted for, but not with, land-attack cruise missiles.

Brazilian industrial participation includes Akaer on components and Usiminas on steel, with 76 mm ammunition, including the VULCANO variant, produced domestically; about 40% of each ship's parts are made in Brazil. In April 2026 the Portuguese Navy was reported to have shown interest in the class.