Zona Militar had the opportunity to interview Alexey Bobroff Daros, Business Development Coordinator at EMGEPRON, to learn about various naval construction programs and projects managed and overseen for the Brazilian Navy; such as the Tamandaré frigates, patrol boats, and armored boats.
As part of the exclusive coverage we are conducting at the LAAD 2024 international Security and Defense fair, Zona Militar had the opportunity to interview the Business Coordinator of the Brazilian company EMGEPRON, Retired Frigate Captain Alexey Bobroff Daros, in order to learn about the main naval construction projects for the Brazilian Navy managed by the company.
EMGEPRON is a state-owned company linked to the Ministry of Defense specialized in project management for the Brazilian Navy, as well as carrying out the commercialization of products and services provided by the naval sector of the national defense industry, including military vessels, naval repairs, onboard combat systems, artillery ammunition, oceanographic services, and logistical support, among others.
Below is the interview.
-ZM: What is the company presenting? What are the objectives at LAAD?
-AD: The company has several specific objectives in different areas. The first area is strategic for both the company and the Brazilian Navy. It is worth noting that this is a public, state-owned company, but independent, meaning that our budget does not depend on the government’s or the Navy’s budget, so we have to do business to survive.
In this focus, we work together with the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian State to build four (4) frigates that are currently under construction in Itajaí, Santa Catarina. The company had an investment of 3 billion dollars to build the frigates, and a polar vessel that is being built in Espirito Santo.
The 4 frigates are being built by a partner, Aguas Azules. This firm is formed by Embraer and Thyssen Group. This is a part of the company and we act as the main contractor, managing the contract together with the Aguas Azules partnership. Additionally, we also have our own businesses focused on the naval industry.
Here specifically, we are presenting armored fast boats for the Navy, designed for amphibious assaults or for the police… So, it is important that if any customer wants something different, we can work together with engineers, such as the Navy engineers, to customize the boats or even a vessel.
Returning to another strategic point of the company, we are currently working on the 500-ton Patrol Boats. The Navy needs 12 ships of 500 tons, and that will be our project, just like we do today with the frigates, as the main contractor. It is a lightweight patrol boat specially designed for patrolling missions on the coast against ships engaged in illegal fishing, illicit drug trafficking. This project belongs to EMGEPRON, according to the requirements made by the Brazilian Navy, and we will start building it this year, or next.
-ZM: You had mentioned the 4 frigates, what is the status of that project?
-AD: The first frigate will be launched in August of this year, while the others will be in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
-ZM: Are there any regional expectations regarding projects with other countries?
-AD: The expectation for this vessel, a project that is ready without the intervention of other countries, tested in test tanks, is the possibility of working with friendly navies, for example, from Argentina, and we have other demands, other joint projects to develop more units of this vessel here in Brazil, or perhaps in Argentina.
-ZM: What does the company expect from this fair?
-AD: The main objective is to make the company known to Brazilian society, specifically showing this boat, which is a boat that the Brazilian Navy already uses in the rivers of the Amazon, in Itaipú, and the Brazilian Army has also demanded 4 boats, and then will demand more. It is a boat that is tested, that the entire Navy uses, and I myself used it a lot when I was in service. It is the 4th version, and all the novelties it could have had have been improved, so we are always developing the project, because we know that it is ready for combat or for patrol.
-ZM: Do you know if they would like to present it to other states, for example regarding national security, to Argentina?
-AD: We would very much like to show it, mainly because one of these boats is operating in the Itaipú area. For us, it is much easier to go there and show its capabilities, and how we can work together. I operated the boat for many years in Antarctica and the Amazon, and I am certain that this boat, more than a product, is a widely tested service.
*Coverage by María Victoria Pierucci for Zona Militar from São Paulo, Brazil.
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