Barracuda-class submarine (France)

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Suffren class
Suffren class SSN.svg
Suffren-class profile
Class overview
NameBarracuda class
Builders Naval Group
OperatorsCivil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Preceded by Rubis class
Subclasses Orka class
Cost € 10.42 billion (2014) [1] for 6 units (about € 1.73 billion per unit )
Built2007–present
In commission2020–present [2]
Planned6 (French Navy, SSN variant); 4 (Royal Netherlands Navy, SSK variant)
Building4 (French Navy)
Completed2 (French Navy)
Active2 (French Navy)
General characteristics
Type Nuclear attack submarine
Displacement
  • 4,765 t surfaced
  • 5,300 t submerged
Length99.5 m (326 ft 5 in)
Beam8.8 m (28 ft 10 in)
Draught7.3 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
RangeUnlimited range
EnduranceDepends on the amount of food carried or potential crew fatigue while operational (typically 70 days worth of food is embarked) [3]
Test depth>350 m (1,150 ft) [4]
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

The Barracuda class (or Suffren class) is a class of nuclear 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 first unit was commissioned on 6 November 2020. [2] The lead boat of the class, Suffren, entered service on 3 June 2022. [7]

Contents

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:

Sensors, Electronics, Decoys
Combat management and Information Systems
SYCOBS combat management system
Radars, Electronic Support Measures and Sonars
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
Safran SIGMA 40 XP gyrolaser navigation systems
Safran Series 30 AOM attack optronic mast featuring an RESM module
Safran Series 30 SOM search optronic mast featuring an RESM module
Decoys, Countermeasures and jammers
NEMESIS electronic countermeasure system with CANTO-S decoys and automatic evasive manoeuvres (confusion/dilution principle)
Communications
Thales PARTNER communications management system
Thales DIVESAT communications satellite mast with Syracuse satellite link
Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22 data links
Thales TUUM-5 MK2 distressed submarine (DISSUB) communication system
Weapons
4 tubes and 20 weapon racks for:
F21 Artémis heavyweight torpedoes
MdCN land-attack cruise missiles
Exocet SM39 mod2 anti-ship missiles
A3SM (VL MICA) surface-to-air missiles
FG29 multi-influence mines
D-19 UUV
Propulsion / Power
1 TechnicAtome K15 nuclear reactor (150 MW)
2 turbo-generators (10 MW each)
2 SEMPT Pielstick emergency diesel generators (480 kW each)
1 propeller pump (hydrojet)

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.

Boats

Pennant no.NameLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFull operational capabilityHomeport
Q284/S635 [20] Suffren 19 December 2007 [21] 12 July 2019 [22] 6 November 2020 [2] 3 June 2022 [23] Toulon
S636 Duguay-Trouin June 2009 [21] 9 September 2022 [24] [25] 28 July 2023 [26] 4 April 2024 [27]
S637 [28] Tourville [29] [30] 2011 [21] 2023/24 [31] [32] [33] 2024/25 [34] 2024/25
TBCDe Grasse [35] [36] 2014 [29] 20252026 [34] 2026/27
TBCRubis [35] [36] 201920272028 [34] 2028/29
TBCCasabianca [35] [36] [37] 2020 [37] [38] 20282029/2030 [39] [34] 2030/31

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. [40] 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. [41] [42] Construction was expected to begin in 2023. [43] 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). [44] The reactors run on weapons-grade uranium, are sealed and last for the thirty three years. [45] 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 with 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. [46] [47] [48]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Projet de loi de finances pour 2015 : Défense : équipement des forces" (in French). Senate of France. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "New Suffren Barracuda-class nuclear-powered attack submarine officially commissioned by French Navy". navyrecognition.com. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 "France's Future SSNs: The Barracuda Class". Defense Industry Daily. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "SSN Barracuda Nuclear Powered Attack Submarine - Naval Technology". www.naval-technology.com. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Nouvelle génération de torpille lourde pour la Marine nationale : la F21" (PDF). Naval Group. October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
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  8. 1 2 Preston, Antony (1 October 2002). "France unveils plans for new barracuda SSNs". Sea Power. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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  16. ↑ "SMX® Ocean Conventionally Powered Attack Submarine, France". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Scott, Jason; Whitley, Angus (26 April 2016). "France's DCNS Wins $39 Billion Australian Submarine Contract". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
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  21. 1 2 3 Tringham, Kate (6 June 2022). "French Navy commissions first Barracuda submarine". Janes. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  22. ↑ Huberdeau, Emmanuel. "France launches first Barracuda SSN". Janes. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
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  34. 1 2 3 4 Groizeleau, Vincent (1 February 2021). "Marine nationale : les programmes qui vont façonner la future flotte française" [French Navy: the programs that will shape the future French fleet]. Mer et Marine (in French). Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  35. 1 2 3 "Programme Barracuda : mer en vue pour le Suffren" [Barracuda Program: Sea in sight for the Suffren] (in French). Ministry of Defence of France. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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  37. 1 2 Groizeleau, Vincent (10 February 2020). "Sous-marins : Une troisième génération de Casabianca en construction" [Submarines: a third generation of Casabianca under construction]. Mer et Marine (in French). Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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  39. ↑ Vavasseur, Xavier (27 November 2021). "Naval Group Rolls Out 2nd Barracuda Type Submarine". Naval News. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  40. ↑ "DCNS unveils Shortfin Barracuda" (Press release). Naval Group. 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  41. ↑ "France wins $50b contract to help build Australia's new submarines" (Press release). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
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  43. ↑ "Australia And Naval Group Ink Agreement On Attack-Class Submarine Program". Naval News. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  44. ↑ GDC (16 September 2021). "Australia To Acquire Nuclear-powered Submarine, Scraps Conventional Submarine Project". Global Defense Corp. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  45. ↑ "Australia considered buying nuclear submarines from France before ditching deal, Peter Dutton says". The Guardian. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
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