Argentina developing nuclear-powered submarine

By Robin Yapp, Sao Paulo

Arturo Puricelli, the country's defence minister, said the project was requested by President Cristina Kirchner and said her presidency would be "recalled by history as the beginning of a great time for Argentina."

He indicated that a submarine already previously under construction would be the first to be put into operation with nuclear propulsion and suggested that others would follow.

The announcement comes at a time of heightened tension over the sovereignty of the Falklands, which British forces won back in a 10-week war in 1982 following an Argentine invasion.

Nuclear-powered submarines are considered vastly superior to conventional, typically diesel-electric models, because they can operate at high speed for long durations and do not need to surface frequently.

As such, they are considered excellent "stealth" options to project power and act as a deterrent to potential adversaries.

Eric Wertheim, author and editor of the US Naval Institute's Combat Fleets of the World guide, said: "British naval power is at a historic low due to budget cuts and the strain of the last decade's combat operations.

"Certainly, this is a symbol that Argentina has not forgotten. They don't want to be seen as a second rate power.

"I think the way that Britain would be able to protect the Falklands would be purely defensive before an attack happened. The ability to take the Falklands back once it is taken is decreasing monthly. It seemed insurmountable in 1982 but it seems a lot more insurmountable today." Mr Puricelli said Argentina already has the "capacity to develop nuclear propulsion for submarines" through its atomic energy and nuclear technology programmes.

"President Cristina Kirchner has requested us to come up with a nuclear propulsion development project for our submarines," he said in a statement released by his ministry.

"This brings us to the submarine ARA Santa Fe, which has been waiting for some years in the shipyard, which when ready will exit not with its original propulsion but with nuclear propulsion developed in Argentina." The submarine had been due for completion in 2015 as a conventional model but it is almost certain to be substantially longer before it can operate with nuclear propulsion.

In June Admiral Sir John "Sandy" Woodward, the head of Britain's Naval task force in the 1982 war, warned in a letter to *The Daily Telegraph *that defence cuts mean Britain can now do "precisely nothing" to prevent Argentina retaking the islands.

Days later President Kirchner labelled Britain a "crude colonial power in decline" after David Cameron insisted in Parliament that the Falklands should remain British for as long as they want.

Last month Brazil announced it had started work on five new submarines, one of which will be nuclear-powered, in a project seen as necessary due to its discovery of vast offshore oilfields.

British companies continue to explore the waters of the Falklands for oil and any large scale discovery would be certain to create further tension with Argentina.