Brazilian frigate Independência

F Independência (F-44) is a Niterói-class frigate of the Brazilian Navy. The Independência was the fifth ship of her class ordered by the Brazilian Navy, on 20 September 1970. The Independência was launched on 2 September 1974, and was commissioned on 3 September 1979.

History
The Independência took over command of the Maritime Task Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (FTM-UNIFIL) on 28 January 2018, to carry out Operation Lebanon XIII from March to September 2018. The ship captained the FTM-UNIFIL, whose mission is to prevent entry into Lebanese territory, illegal arms and smuggling, as well as providing support for the development of the Lebanese Navy, in terms of training its personnel, in order to make it capable of controlling its territorial waters in the future.

From August to October 2021, she sailed to the Gulf of Guinea in Operation "Guinex-I", which sought to improve joint maritime security capabilities of Brazil with partner African nations situated in the Gulf. Over the course of the operation, Independência visited Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé e Príncipe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Cape Verde, where GRUMEC operators took part in training local forces in anti-piracy and boarding operations.

In 2023, the frigate, accompanied by the frigate BRAZILIAN FRIGATE União and the submarine BRAZILIAN SUBMARINE Tikuna, conducted joint exercises with the destroyer ARA Sarandí and the offshore patrol vessel ARA Bartolomé Cordero of the Argentine Navy.