Paris Defense continues strengthening its nuclear submarine capability. Respecting French tradition, they all build within national borders
It’s called Rubis and Naval Group presented it on the eve of the Euronaval show. This is the fifth French nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) of the Barracuda class to leave the company’s shipyard to be positioned on the DME floating launching platform in the presence of Catherine VautrinMinister of Armed Forces and Veterans.
The completion works will continue, accompanied by a series of tests, first on the dock and then at sea, before delivery to the National Navy. Managed by the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) in collaboration with the Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy (CEA) as regards the nuclear propulsion system, the Barracuda program aims to replace the six Rubis class attack submarines that entered service since the 1980s. Of this class, to date, the S.635 Suffren has been in service since 2020; the S.636 Duguay-Trouin from 2023 and the S.637 Tourville from November 2024.
The program therefore envisages the delivery of six attack units by 2030 and four of them have already been delivered between November 2020 and last June. This program is the result of enormous collective work involving Naval Group together with hundreds of partners belonging to the Defense industrial and technological base. Overall, 3,000 men and women – of which around 800 from Naval Group subcontractors – who contribute to the design and construction of these Suffren-class submarines. The displacement is 5,300 tons, the length of almost one hundred meters, a width of approximately nine and a height of 8.4.
The characteristics of the Rubis submarine
Propulsion is entrusted to a 150 megawatt Rep Technicatome K15 reactor that drives two 10 megawatt turbo alternators and powers a pair of 480 kilowatt SEMT Pielstick emergency electric motors, all to drive a single propeller. With an operating depth of 300 metres, when submerged it reaches a speed of 23 knots (43 km/h) and has an autonomy of 70 days of food. The crew is made up of 60 men of which 8 are officers; the armament includes four 533 mm launch tubes for twenty F21 type torpedoes. The unit can launch Exocet anti-ship and MdCN cruise missiles, as well as lay mines of various types.
Pierre Eric PommelletPresident and CEO of Naval Group, said: «It is with great pride and a deep sense of responsibility that today we transferred Rubis, the fifth nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Suffren class, to its launching platform. This milestone comes just 17 months after the De Grasse attack submarine, demonstrating our commitment to our customers. In an extremely complex operational context, manufacturers must rise to the occasion to provide sailors with the units necessary to carry out their missions. This event also represents an opportunity to recognize the integrated teamwork with the DGA, our partners and the crew: the foundation of our collective success.”
The role of Naval Group
The program makes use of the expertise of all Naval Group sites, as well as the industrial infrastructures of TechnicAtome and numerous partner companies. Naval Group is responsible for the production of these submarines, from design to construction, including the manufacturing of the main components of the nuclear propulsion system, and is also responsible for the provision of logistical support and maintenance of the submarines which takes place in Toulon.
A success for the French nuclear-powered deep-sea military shipbuilding industry after the affair of September 2021, when Australia canceled a billion-dollar contract with Naval Group for the construction of twelve conventional submarines, instead choosing the Aukus of the United States and United Kingdom which are powered by the atom, i.e. with greater autonomy and therefore more suitable for missions in the vast Indo-Pacific area.
The affair, after a diplomatic crisis, ended the following year with the Australian government paying a penalty of over 580 million euros to Naval Group.
