Brazil’s river borders now have yet another weapon in the fight against crime: new armored riverine operations boats designed and built by the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal (AMRJ). The first are already patrolling the rivers of Guaíra and Foz do Iguaçu, in Paraná. In December, the Navy delivered the first of four boats ordered by the Army to the Amazon Military Command Vessel Center in Manaus (AM).
The new model is built in high-strength aluminum, equipped with ballistic protection and 50mm and 7.62mm MAG machine guns, capable of firing 600 to 1,000 rounds per minute. The 320 hp (horsepower) engines allow it to reach a maximum speed of 35 knots, approximately 65 km/h, and carry a total of 17 people. The tank capacity guarantees autonomy of 13 hours at cruising speed (average achieved for fuel economy).
“The boat project is semi-automated, that is, there is a 3D project, in which we can make changes in advance of construction, in the design phase. With this, we can mitigate any type of problem and visualize future improvements, in addition to reducing costs and accelerating production”, says the manager of Construction of Vessels up to 200 Tons at AMRJ, Civil Servant André Patrocínio de Castro.
Another factor that contributes to speeding up production is the use of a CNC (Computer Numeric Control) cutting machine, controlled by a computer and capable of producing precision parts in series. “Regarding the assembly of the ballistic protection plate, Arsenal’s technical team developed an assembly system so that any dimensional error in the construction of the boat would not be enough to prevent the protection from being assembled, nor would any additional service be necessary,” explains the manager.
The boats built by AMRJ are an evolution of the “Excalibur” Class boat, designed and built by the Ladário River Base, in Mato Grosso do Sul. This prototype, named “Cuiabá”, was delivered to the Mato Grosso Riverine Operations Vessel Group (GrEOPRibMT) in July 2021. This and three other similar boats belonging to the Group are used in fire containment, hydrographic surveys and military training.