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Suffren class

Suffren-class profile
Class overview
Name	Suffren class
Builders	Naval Group
Operators	French Navy
Preceded by	Rubis class
Subclasses	Orka class
Cost	€10.42 billion (2014) for 6 units (about €1.73 billion per unit )
Built	2007–present
In commission	2020–present
Planned	6
Building	3
Completed	3
Active	3
General characteristics
Type	Nuclear attack submarine
Displacement	4,765 t surfaced 5,300 t submerged
Length	99.5 m (326 ft 5 in)
Beam	8.8 m (28 ft 10 in)
Draught	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	K15 nuclear reactor, 150 MW (200,000 hp) 2 x Turbo-generator groups: 10 MW (13,000 hp) each 2 x emergency diesel generators 480 kW (640 hp) each 1 x pump-jet electrically driven
Speed	Over 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph), surfaced
Range	Unlimited range
Endurance	Depends on the amount of food carried or potential crew fatigue while operational (typically 70 days worth of food is embarked)
Test depth	>350 m (1,150 ft)
Complement	12 officers 48 petty officers
Sensors and processing systems	Naval Group SYCOBS combat management system Thales UMS-3000 hull and flank array sonar suite ETBF DSUV 62C towed array sonar Thales SEACLEAR mine and obstacle avoidance sonar Thales VELOX-M8 broadband sonar interceptor Thales NUSS-2F Mk2 navigation echo sounder Safran Series 10 CSR navigation radar NEMESIS electronic countermeasure system
Armament	4 × 533 mm (21.0 in) tubes 20 storage racks for: MdCN land-attack missiles Exocet SM39 Mod2 anti-ship missiles F21 Artemis heavyweight torpedoes FG29 multi-influence mines

The Suffren class is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines, designed by the French shipbuilder Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS and DCN) for the French Navy. It is intended to replace the Rubis-class submarines. Construction began in 2007 and the lead boat of the class, Suffren, was commissioned on 6 November 2020. It officially entered active service on 3 June 2022.

History

Development

In October 1998, the Delegation Générale pour l'Armement, the French government's defense procurement agency, established an integrated project team consisting of the Naval Staff, DCN (now known as Naval Group), Technicatome and the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, a regulatory body that oversees nuclear power plants, to oversee a program the design of a new attack submarine class, called Barracuda. DCN was to be the boat's designer and builder while Technicatome (since acquired by Areva) was to be responsible for the nuclear power plant. The two companies were to act jointly as a single prime contractor to share the industrial risks, manage the schedules, and be responsible for the design's performance and costs, which at the time was estimated to be US$4.9 billion.

On 22 December 2006, the French government placed a €7.9 billion order for six Suffren submarines with Naval Group and their nuclear power plants with Areva-Technicatome. According to the DGA “Competition at the subcontractor level will be open to foreign companies for the first time.” According to the contract, the first boat was to commence sea trials in early 2016, with delivery occurring in late 2016/early 2017. This was to be followed by entry into service in late 2017. However, this timetable for service entry was later pushed back into the early 2020s.

The first boat of the class, Suffren, became fully operational in June 2022. The second boat of the class, Duguay-Trouin, also suffered delays but began sea trials on 26 March 2023, performing her first dive on 27 and 28 March. The submarine was formally delivered to the French Navy in August 2023. In early 2024, Duguay-Trouin deployed to the Caribbean as part of her ongoing trials and was declared fully operational in April 2024. The third submarine in the class, Tourville, began her sea trials in July 2024 and was delivered in November 2024.

Description

Barracudas will integrate technology from the Triomphant class, including pump-jet propulsion. This class reportedly produces approximately 1/1000 of the detectable noise of the Redoutable-class boats, and they are ten times more sensitive in detecting other submarines. They will be fitted with torpedo tube-launched MdCN cruise missiles for long-range (well above 1,000 km; 620 mi) strikes against strategic land targets. Their missions will include anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, land attack, intelligence gathering, crisis management and special operations.

The Barracuda class nuclear reactor incorporates several improvements over that of the preceding Rubis. Notably, it extends the time between refueling and complex overhauls (RCOHs) from 7 to 10 years, enabling higher at-sea availability.

In support of special operations missions, the Barracuda can also accommodate up to 15 Commandos Marine. It integrates a removable dry deck shelter aft of the sail able to embark the commandos' new generation PSM3G Swimmer Delivery Vehicle (ECA Special Warfare Underwater Vehicle).

Specifications

Designed by Naval Group and TechnicAtome, the Barracuda integrates the following systems:

Note: The Antenne Linéaire Remorquée à technologie Optique (ALRO) under development by Thales for the SNLE 3G is expected to replace the ETBF DSUV 62C towed array sonar on the Barracuda-class submarines. The Exocet SM39 submarine-launched anti-ship missile was initially expected to be replaced via the FMAN/FMC led by MBDA. However, the programme is no longer expected to produce any missile capable of being launched from submarines as their dimensions will not be compatible with torpedo tubes. MBDA is therefore pitching its Exocet SM40 under development as a successor to the SM39 post-2030.

Boats

Shortfin Barracuda conventional variant

Australia

Naval Group submitted a conventionally powered diesel-electric variation to the design – named the Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A, a derivative of the SMX Ocean concept – to the competitive evaluation process (CEP) phase of Australia's Collins-class submarine replacement. "While exact details remain confidential, DCNS can confirm the Shortfin Barracuda is over 90 metres (300 ft) in length and displaces more than 4,000 tons when dived," said Sean Costello, CEO of Naval Group Australia. Naval Group was chosen by the Australian Government on 26 April 2016 to build twelve of the Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A variant at a projected AU$50 billion (US$37.6 billion). Much of the works were to be undertaken at ASC Pty Ltd in Adelaide, South Australia. Construction was expected to begin in 2023. The class would have been known as the Attack-class submarine with the first vessel named HMAS Attack.

On 16 September 2021, Australia cancelled the Attack-class project and entered into a partnership with the United States and United Kingdom to obtain nuclear submarine technology (SSN-AUKUS). The reactors run on weapons-grade uranium, are sealed and last for the thirty three years. The ones France uses, on the other hand, have to be serviced every ten years since it switched from weapons-grade to low-enriched uranium (LEU) to fuel its nuclear-powered submarines from the Rubis class onward; this therefore requires a domestic nuclear industry, which Australia lacks.

Netherlands

The Shortfin Barracuda class was proposed by Naval Group to the Royal Netherlands Navy as one of the three competitors in the Walrus-class replacement program. The design was competing against the Saab A26 submarine and the TKMS Type 212 submarine. On 15 March 2024 State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat announced that Naval Group had been selected as the winning bid. The boats will be known as the Orka class, with the first two planned to be delivered within ten years of the contract signing.

See also

• List of submarines of France
• Submarine forces (France)
• Future of the French Navy
• Future of the Royal Netherlands Navy
• Cruise missile submarine

References

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External links

• DCN official site at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 February 2008)
• France unveils plans for new Barracuda SSNs at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 30 March 2006)
• France's Future SSNs: The Barracuda Class at Defense Industry Daily.

v t e Equipment of the French Navy
Naval Action Force	Aircraft carriers Charles de Gaulle Frigates (1st class) Horizon-class frigate Aquitaine-class frigate La Fayette-class frigate Frigates (2nd class) Floréal-class frigate Patrol vessels D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso Confiance-class patrol vessel Patrouilleur Outre-mer Flamant-class patrol vessel Amphibious assault vessels Mistral-class amphibious assault ship Landing craft EDAR EDIC CTM Minehunter vessels Tripartite-class minehunter Tankers Durance-class tanker Bâtiment ravitailleur de forces
Submarine Forces (Strategic Oceanic Force)	SSN Rubis class Suffren class SSBN Triomphant class
Naval aviation	Fighter & attack Rafale Patrol Bréguet Atlantic Airborne early warning Hawkeye Transport & communications Falcon 10 Helicopters Dauphin Panther Lynx NH90

v t e Current and planned classes of nuclear-powered attack submarines
Royal Australian Navy	Virginia (planned) SSN-AUKUS (planned)
Brazilian Navy	Álvaro Alberto (under construction)
People's Liberation Army Navy	Type 09-I (Han) Type 09-III (Shang) Type 09-V (planned)
French Navy	Rubis Barracuda
Indian Navy	Project 75 Alpha (planned)
Russian Navy	Victor III Sierra I & II Akula Yasen Khabarovsk Laika (planned)
Royal Navy	Trafalgar Astute SSN-AUKUS (planned)
United States Navy	Los Angeles Seawolf Virginia SSN(X) (planned)

• Submarine classes
• French Barracuda-class submarines
• Proposed ships
• Attack submarines