On November 15, the nuclear attack submarine [SNA] Émeraude completed its final mission after docking in Cherbourg, where it must be dismantled. This date marks a turning point for the French Navy given that it will now have more Suffren-type SNAs [ou Barracuda] only SNA belonging to the Ruby class, the Amethyst and the Pearl expected to remain in service until the end of this decade.
Indeed, while the Émeraude had just finished its operational cycle, the Tourville, the third SNA of the Barracuda type after the Suffren and the Duguay-Trouin, was delivered to the Directorate General of Armament [DGA]who immediately transferred him to the French Navy in Brest.
As a reminder, the K15 nuclear boiler room in Tourville was started up on April 24. Then, at the beginning of July, the SNA carried out its first outing at sea by crossing the harbor of Cherbourg to reach the harbor of Becquet for its first periscopic immersion, this being intended to check its watertightness, its stability and its weight.
Driven by a crew from the French Navy, under the supervision of the DGA and the Directorate of Military Applications [DAM] of the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission [CEA]testing of the Tourville continued normally until its unexpected return to Cherbourg for “technical adjustments”. Obviously, this setback had no impact on the rest of its program since it was therefore delivered by Naval Group and TechnicAtome on schedule.
“The SNA Tourville Delivery comes at the end of a four-month sea trial campaign […]. Throughout this phase, the unique expertise of the state and industrial teams of the Barracuda program was used to monitor and carry out all the tests, under the leadership of the DGA and the management of the ship by the National Navy. Successfully carried out, these tests made it possible to progressively verify the performance of the submarine's equipment and systems thanks to the collaborative work of a team of experts bringing together sailors, DGA, CEA, Naval Group and TechnicAtome,” underlined the Ministry of the Armed Forces, via a press release released on November 18.
From now on, the French Navy, via its Nuclear Attack Submarine Squadron [ESNA]will begin an operational testing phase of the Tourville in order to verify its military qualities. His admission to active service is planned for 2025.
Note that, as Admiral Nicolas Vaujour recently noted, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy [CEMM]the “pacha” of Tourville is a former “sonar operator sailor” who “climbed all the ranks” to become frigate captain.
As a reminder, displaying a displacement of 5,300 tonnes when submerged for a length of 99 meters and a diameter of 8.8 meters, the Suffren type SNA have sensors ten to fifteen times more efficient than those of the Rubis class. More discreet than the latter, they carry modernized Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles, heavy F-21 wire-guided torpedoes, mines and, above all, naval cruise missiles. [MdCN]. Additionally, they can deploy a removable deck hangar [Dry Dock Shelter, ou DDS]in order to allow marine commandos to implement a 3rd generation underwater thruster [PSM3G].
After the Tourville, three other Barracuda-type SNAs will be delivered to the French Navy, namely the de Grasse, the Rubis and the Casabianca.
Photo: Ministry of the Armed Forces
