The Brazilian Navy has agreed to transfer two Tupi class submarines – Type 209/1400 – to Argentina, following a meeting between Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his Argentine counterpart, Mauricio Macro.
The deal includes a potential future transfer of an additional two boats.
The first two could be transferred during 2019 and the ships would then receive some minor repairs at Tandanor shipyard in Argentina before entering service in 2020.
The Tupi class of four vessels was commissioned between 1989 and 1999 and is slated to be replaced by the four Tonelero-class submarines of the Scorpene type in the near future.
The first of class submarine, Tupi (S30), was designed and built in Kiel, Germany, by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and commissioned into the Brazilian Navy in 1989. The Arsenal de Marinha naval shipyard in Rio de Janeiro constructed the Tamoio (S31), commissioned in 1994, Timbira (S32), commissioned in 1996, and Tapajo (S33), commissioned in 1999.
