The Brazilian boats are larger in length, tonnage and cargo capacity compared to the French Scorpène class they are derived from.

The hull of Riachuelo was laid down at Cherbourg, France, on 27 May 2010 and it was jumboized at the Brazilian Navy Shipyard in Itaguaí in late 2012.

[12] The first stage of construction of the submarine took place in France, at the headquarters of DCNS in Cherbourg, with the cutting of the first steel plates of the structure.

In September 2015, the first construction stage was completed, with the delivery of the last section of resistant hull.

[13] The initial Navy predictions for the delivery of Riachuelo were for 2015, however, after some postponements, the boat was launched in 2018, in order to start the platform acceptance testing phase, with two years in duration, plus six months of tests of the combat systems, with its incorporation to the operative sector foreseen for the middle of 2021.