Argentinian Nuclear Submarine

[THO88]

While researching the currently under construction Brazilian SSN Álvaro Alberto, I came across the fascinating story of the Argentinian nuclear submarine program. The idea of a nuclear sub may have been explored as early as the 1950s but really took off in the late 1970s with the purchase of the TR1700 submarines from Germany. Since than the basic idea has been to install an indigenously designed reactor on a modified TR1700 hull. This idea has been kicked around as recent as late 2018 utilizing the incomplete hull of the ARA Santa Fe but considering the current state of the Argentinian Navy, this is most likely wishful thinking. I thought I saw a Argentinian newspaper article from this year stating the program had been canceled again but I can't find it now.

Posted below are links to two articles I felt give the best overview of the program, both historically and as it currently stands. The globalsecurity.org article references several other good articles/documents as well. Some are in Spanish, so maybe a Spanish speaking forum member can provide more insight.

• Argentine Submarino a Propulsión Nuclear (globalsecurity.org)
• Argentina evaluates construction of a nuclear submarine | NBN

 

[Antonio]

I'll take a look at one of the documents linked which seems interesting and is in Spanish. I'll try to post a brief summary. It seems that not only Argentina would like to operate SSN but also many other countries dream or dreamt about it

But according to Argentina's financial situation, I think that's not going to be a priority for their Government in the near future.

 

[JohnR]

Does Argentina have any nuclear power plants to have gained experience with them, and to base design on?

 

[THO88]

Does Argentina have any nuclear power plants to have gained experience with them, and to base design on?

They do, there is currently 3 operational reactors. They're all of the pressurized water type (PWR) which is what all the western navies use.

The reactor they were planning on installing is modified version of the CAREM reactor which is a small modular PWR designed by the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. A land based CAREM reactor is currently being built and nearing completion