French Navy commissions its first Suffren-Class nuclear-powered submarine into service

Europe, News June 9, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The French Navy commissioned the new Suffren-Class nuclear-powered submarine into active duty on June 3, 2022.

France’s newly appointed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu attended the ceremony to commission the new nuclear-powered submarine into service. After attending the ceremony, he announced on Twitter that Suffren-Class nuclear-powered submarine is now fully active and ready to perform operational tasks.

Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces Admiral Pierre Vender was also present during the ceremony, he stated that “The Suffren is the first Barracuda to enter operational service after being accepted. She is [a] promising submarine developed by our engineers from DGA, Naval Group, and Technic Atome. I wish Suffren and her crew fair winds and following sea.”

Six new nuclear-powered attack submarines would join the ranks in the French Navy by the next decade with Suffren-Class being the first one in line. Developed under the Barracuda Program, Suffren-Class was launched in July 2019. The new class of Nuclear powered submarines would offer a great leap of development for the French Navy.

The Suffren-Class submarine is 99 meters long and 8.8 meters wide at the widest point of its diameter. It can cruise at a speed of 25 knots and can reach 350 meters depth underwater. Nuclear-powered submarines are known for their endurance inside the water and can spend months on missions without needing to be refueled.

Suffren-Class nuclear power submarines would have an endurance of at least 70 days underwater, the limitation of endurance is subject to the food supplies rather than refueling. The French Navy’s Suffren-Class has doubled the displacement capacity when compared to its predecessor Rubis-Class. The submarine has a surface displacement capacity of 4,700 tons while 5,100 tons of diving displacement capacity.

*^{France’s new Suffren-Class nuclear-powered submarine. (Image Credit: Reuters/Benoit Tessier)}*

Suffren-Class is equipped with an F21 heavy weight wire-guided torpedo, modernized Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles, and FG-29 mines.

In near future, the French Navy’s D-19 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) would also be integrated into its armament systems. The submarine requires a crew of 63 members to be operated at full capacity.

The submarine is also equipped with numerous advanced sensors and radar systems to improve its capabilities. It can strike deep behind the enemy lines and launch torpedos while remaining stealthy, thanks to its advanced tube-launched naval cruise missile system. The integration of state-of-the-art sensors also gives it superior anti-submarine warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

The French Navy often uses a dual crew setup for many of its submarines and surface ships. The Suffren-Class submarine has also been designed to accommodate a dual crew setup while many of its parts and equipment can be automated to provide a simplified operating system for the crew members which is been seen as a great improvement compared to the Rubis-Class submarines.