The Barracuda class (or Suffren class) is a class of nuclearattack 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 first unit was commissioned on 6 November 2020.[2] The lead boat of the class, Suffren, entered service on 3 June 2022.[7]
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 a l'Énergie Atomique, a regulatory body that oversees nuclear power plants, to oversee the design of a new attack submarine class.[8] 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.[8]
On 22 December 2006, the French government placed a €7.9 billion order for six Barracuda submarines with Naval Group and their nuclear power plants with Areva-Technicatome.[9] According to the DGA “Competition at the subcontractor level will be open to foreign companies for the first time.”[10] 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.[11] 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,[12] performing her first dive on 27 and 28 March.[13] The submarine was formally delivered to the French Navy in August 2023.[14] In early 2024, Duguay-Trouin deployed to the Caribbean as part of her ongoing trials.[15]
Conventionally-powered variants
DCNS/Naval Group has also put forward diesel-electric variants of the Barracuda, for several other navies. One conventionally-powered concept, dubbed the SMX-Ocean, features fuel cells and vertical launchers.[16]
In 2016, another variant, known within Naval Group as the Shortfin Barracuda – with a diesel-electric powerplant and scaled-down missile capabilities – was offered to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). That same year, the Shortfin Barracuda was selected by the Australian government, for a major expansion of the RAN submarine fleet during the 2030s. A total of 12 vessels were to enter service with the RAN from 2032, augmenting and replacing six Collins-class vessels.[17][18] However, on 16 September 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the cancellation of the contract with Naval Group and the creation of AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, that will help the latter acquire nuclear-powered submarines.[18]
Naval Group is also offering a variant of the Shortfin diesel-electric design, as a replacement for the current Walrus-class submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
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.[19] 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).[3]
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 and VL MICA missiles are also expected to be respectively replaced by the FMAN/FMC and VL MICA NG under development by MBDA.
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.[36] 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.[37][38] Construction was expected to begin in 2023.[39] 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).[40] The reactors run on weapons-grade uranium, are sealed and last for the thirty three years.[41] 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.
On 15 March 2024 State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat officially announced that Naval Group has 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.[42][43][44]
French Navy
