Navios de Propósitos Múltiplos de Emprego Oceânico: sua importância para o poder naval brasileiro

Abstract

Alongside the sailors, ships are the essence of the navies. Their characteristics, capacities and operational structures tell much of what one should expect from a naval force and they are intimately linked to the vigor and interests of the State to which they belong. In the same way that countries develop economically, politically and technologically, and adapt to new circumstances of an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, ships of the so called post-modern navies follow these changes inexorably. In order to optimize the employment of modern naval assets, in a context of constrained defense budgets and increasingly costly technologically advanced ships, the Multi-Purpose Ships (MPS) arise as a trend in the main navies. These assets, versatile in executing several tasks and flexible in adapting to a configuration change, have been developed in the military and civil areas. They are found in varied dimensions, may be employed in the ocean or near the littoral, having a high degree of automation of systems and equipment, good transportation capacity of cargo and personnel, amongst other striking characteristics. In the naval-military environment, it has gained prominence in amphibious employment, with the development of big ships with outstanding capacity of power projection over land in limited employment activities of the Force and in peaceful activities such as humanitarian aid. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to identify and examine the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages of the oceanic MPS, in order to evaluate the relevance of its employment by Brazilian Navy. For this end, initially, the oceanic MPS and its main characteristics have been conceptualized. Naval assets of this type belonging to US Navy and French Navy have also been identified, because both navies have been prominent in their development and operation. Subsequently, main legal provisions and high-level political and doctrinal documents concerning the employment by Brazilian Navy have been highlighted, as well as contributions of Brazilian naval assets with multi-purpose characteristics (Landing Ship Multi-Purpose “Bahia” and the Offshore Patrol Vessel of “Amazonas” class). Finally, the future was envisioned with the presentation of some innovative projects of oceanic MPS in development worldwide and its possible adequacy to the needs of the Brazilian naval power. The Brazilian Navy Vision of Future has been identified along with the main planning guidelines, programs and projects of oceanic naval assets, as well as their adequacy to the development trends of oceanic MPS in the world.