Brazilian plans to develop a nuclear-powered submarine should be achieved within "a few years," according to a statement yesterday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (see GSN, Jan. 29).
(Dec. 12) -
Brazil remains interested in building a nuclear submarine, modeled here by the Brazilian navy in Sao Paolo (courtesy Fernando Cavalcanti).
"Agreements to build Brazil's first nuclear-propelled submarine are firming up more every day," Lula said in remarks read by Defense Minister Nelson Jobim. "With this, in a few years Brazil will be part of the select group of countries that possess this crucial element in building an effective deterrent ability" (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Dec. 11).
Brazil's long-delayed submarine ambitions have been rejuvenated by the discovery of a major offshore oil field which officials have said needs submarine protection. The nation has begun an effort to purchase diesel-powered submarines from France that could serve as prototypes for future nuclear-powered boats.
"We believe that a nuclear-powered submarine is a resource that Brazil, with its considerable coastal waters, needs," nuclear official Arthur Campos said earlier this year in an Agencia Brasil article. "Every day that passes, the wealth and potential of our territorial waters become manifest and this has to be protected. The use of submarines is a resource that guarantees our sovereignty."
Some nonproliferation experts, however, have expressed concern over Brazil's nuclear ambitions.
Domestic discussions of how to protect "Brazil’s vast resources, in particular the Amazon region and huge new Tupi offshore oil deposit, have raised the possibility of a new arms race in South America and highlighted the significance of nuclear technology -- whether for a submarine reactor, uranium enrichment, or nuclear weapons," said Monterey Institute of International Studies analysts Sarah Diehl and Eduardo Fujii in a March WMD Insights article.
Of particular concern are the nation's uranium enrichment plans and how nuclear submarines would be fueled. U.S. and Russian submarines use highly enriched uranium in their power plants, and many use greater enrichment levels, even nuclear weapon-grade uranium.
Brazil has been developing a uranium enrichment plant at Resende and has butted heads with international nuclear inspectors over how to monitor activity at the site (see GSN, May 10, 2006). The long-running dispute, apparently resolved for now, triggered the attention of nonproliferation analysts.
"A significant question is whether Resende will ever produce enriched uranium for the Brazilian navy's troubled nuclear submarine reactor," said Sharon Squassoni and David Fite in a 2005 Arms Control Today article. Squassoni was then with the U.S. Congressional Research Service and Fite was a staffer on the House International Relations Committee.
"Although Brazilian naval officials have noted that advanced ceramic technologies no longer require submarines to use 93 percent or more enriched (i.e., weapons-grade) uranium in their fuel, a facility that produced even 20 percent enriched uranium would require significantly more intrusive inspections, containment, and surveillance," they said (Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, Dec. 12).