A new nuclear attack submarine, the Duguay-Trouin, joins the French fleet

It's the end of a long process, and the beginning of an even longer career. On April 4, Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Staff of the French Navy, announced the admission to active service of the new nuclear attack submarine (SNA)

. It is the second of the Suffren class, resulting from the Barracuda program, after the submersible of the same name, which entered service on June 3, 2022. The third, called

, and whose commissioning took place last March, the will join by the end of 2024. In total, six Suffren-class submarines will be deployed by 2030.

The

will now be able to be sent on operations, having just completed its first long-term deployment, prior to any admission to active service, which saw it make a stopover at Fort-de-France, in Martinique. . The sea trial phases began in March 2023. They allowed crews to test the performance and endurance of the vessel, as well as the compliance of the equipment with the requested specifications. During this period, the

sailed in both cold and warm waters, indicates the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Gradual replacement of the Rubis class

Ultimately, the Suffren class submarines will replace the Rubis class SNAs, deployed since 1983. The

had already replaced the

, decommissioned in 2019 and

to repair the

, whose bow had was damaged by a fire in June 2020. The

succeeds the

, which will be dismantled in Cherbourg. As for the

, it will replace the

, also in the dismantling phase. These new submersibles will carry out

, underlines the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Also readIn the bowels of the Suffren, the French Navy's new nuclear attack submarine

Traditionally, SNAs serve as support for nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), the spearhead of French deterrence. They provide protection for carrier groups, collect intelligence and participate in submarine and anti-ship warfare. But the new SNA also have new means of deep strikes, with naval cruise missiles (MdCN), which will allow them to carry out ground strikes. They are also equipped with the capacity to implement special forces through a swimmer lock and its deck hangar.

99.5 meters long and displacing 5,100 tonnes, the Suffren class submarines are twice as big as the Rubis, but remain relatively compact compared to American, Russian or English submersibles. In addition to the MdCN, they are equipped with four torpedo tubes for F21 torpedoes and SM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.