Brazil and the Nuclear Submarine

Brazil, one of the fastest rising economies in South America, a model for Green Earth types looking to get off the oil dependency, has discovered a large field of oil off shore. Supposedly, as a result of this discovery Brazil will be building a nuclear submarine.

Well, sortof. Actually Brazil has been working on a nuclear submarine since 1979, and while they have mastered many of the components they haven't yet developed a domestic submarine reactor. The latest news about the Brazilian nuclear submarine though actually includes figures. From the AP.

Brazil has been talking about building a nuclear submarine for decades, but the project got a boost in July when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced $540 million in funding for uranium enrichment and the sub program.

Jobim said earlier this month that he wants to come up with an outline within three months to build a submarine for about $1.2 billion, the Agencia Estado news service reported.

Well, sort of. According to Admiral Julio Soares de Moura Neto, it is actually a billion over 8 years, with $130 million the first year. The goal is to have an 11 MW reactor built and ready to go by 2015, with a nuclear submarine in the water by 2020.

This project is being sold as a project of national pride. Brazil already has the former French aircraft carrier Foch, but a nuclear submarine would put the nation in unique company. In alot of the commentary I have read, many believe the only thing that will stop Brazil from building the submarine is in fact the US.

It leaves a lot of questions without answers though. The Type 209s are badly in need of modernization, and in 2006 it was announced that Brazil had paid $1.8 billion for upgrading the five existing Type 209s and purchasing a Type 214, although no one over at the Brazil Naval blog seems to know anything about that. Is the money being spent to build the nuclear submarine the same money that would be allocated to modernize the Type 209s and buy the new Type 214?

The question matters, because while it may be national pride on the line for a nuclear submarine, Brazil doesn't need a nuclear submarine to guard an oil field off its coast.