Article Posted on : - Feb 13, 2014

The Scorpene submarine. A DCNS photo

TOULON, FRANCE (BNS): French shipbuilder DCNS has commissioned its new shore-based integration facility for the combat systems to be installed on the Brazilian Navy's Scorpene conventional submarines (SSKs).

The new dedicated facility at the French defence procurement agency's Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer centre near Toulon in France will be used to test sophisticated data processing systems before they are installed on board the new-generation subs.

The equipment making up the combat systems of the first Scorpene SSK will now be integrated and interfaced with the shore integration facility in a technical configuration similar to the one planned for the submarines themselves.

Over the next two years, joint DCNS/Brazilian Navy teams will test combat systems for Brazil's Scorpene SSKs while training Brazilian officers and crew in accordance with the technology transfer agreement, DCNS said.

Once a system has been tested in France, its components will be sent to Brazil for integration with a submarine under construction at the Itaguaí shipyard near Rio de Janeiro.

Between now and late 2015, some 20 Brazilians will receive training in combat system design and integration, the shipbuilder said.

In 2008, Brazil had inked a deal worth 6.7 billion Euros with France to acquire four Scorpene conventional submarines and technical assistance to build its own submarines. The Scorpene subs are being designed for a full range of missions including anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, special operations and intelligence gathering.