Brazil Confirms Purchase of British Royal Navy's HMS Ocean; What to Expect from the Carrier in Brazilian Service

With the induction of the first of two Queen Elizabeth class heavy aircraft carriers into service in the British Royal Navy the country plans to retire its current flagship, the 23,700 ton HMS Ocean. The warship serves as an amphibious assault ship and helicopter carrier similar to the Mistral Class ships in French and Egyptian service. Britain received an offer from Turkey to purchase the carrier for scrap, but ultimately chose to sell its flagship to the Brazilian Navy for £84 million ($115 million). The purchase was confirmed by Brazilian Defence Minister Raul Jungmann, and the first group of four Brazilian officers have been sent to the U.K. to prepare to receive the warship.

The HMS Ocean is hardly the first major warship Brazil has purchased second hand. The country's Navy previously fielded the 32,800 ton warship São Paulo which it purchased from France in 2000 after forty years in French service. Brazilian Navy Commander Admiral Eduardo Leal Ferreira stated that acquiring the Ocean at the low price at which it was offered was “convenient." Brazil's potential to make use of the Ocean is highly questionable however, and the country has long neglected any form of major military modernisation. The São Paulo was demobilised in February 2017 after just 17 years in service. In that time it was never equipped with modern aircraft, and fielded only a small fleet of antiquated A-4 fighters - a light U.S. attack platform dating back to 1956. Other than a major fire breaking out onboard in 2004, the carrier was never made use of while in service - the least operated carrier in the world rivalled only by Thailand's HTMS Chakri Naruebet in its inactivity. Indeed, while acquiring the hulk of a second hand carrier may well be within Brazil's means, maintaining and operating such a platform to its full capacity and acquiring modern aircraft for its deck are not.

The São Paulo served as a major element of Brazilian military prestige, but this was essentially its only role. Brazil has no designs for power projection for which such carriers were designed, nor does it face any naval threats against which such a platform would be useful. The HMS Ocean is set to play a similar role, and the Brazilian Navy lacks the capabilities to support the warship in any major power projection operations for which it was designed. As such the Ocean, under whichever new name it is given, is set to serve as a symbol of Brazilian power much like the São Paulo before it - but do little else. Unlike France, Egypt, Australia, South Korea and the United States, Brazil is not set to become a major naval power capable of power projection and amphibious landings - and the acquisition of a single light amphibious assault ship is unlikely to change that.