Inhaúma-class corvette

The Inhaúma class are a series of five corvettes operated by the Brazilian Navy. These ships were built in Brazil and designed with assistance from the German company Marine Technik. It was originally planned to build 12 to 16 ships but the economic situation in Brazil did not permit this and only five vessels were built. The first two ships were constructed at the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal, the second pair by Verolme. The programme was considerably delayed due to funding issues and the Brazilian Verolme yard's insolvency in 1991 which forced Júlio de Noronha and Frontin to be completed by the Navy Arsenal. The first ship entered service in 1989 and the last in 2008. Three of the five ships have been taken out of service and one was sunk in a missile exercise in the Atlantic Ocean in 2016.