Fourth New Barracuda-Class Submarine Prepared For Launch

The fourth Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine being built by Naval Group for the French Navy, De Grasse, has been rolled out of her construction hall ahead of her imminent launch.

The six scheduled boats of the Barracuda programme, led by the French procurement agency the DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) will gradually replace the Marine Nationale's Rubis-class SSNs.

De Grasse was yesterday (Tuesday) taken out of her construction yard at the Naval Group facility in Cherbourg to be transferred to a floating platform shiplift, as per a company press statement. She is on schedule to be launched and enter sea trials in 2026.

Pierre Éric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group, commented: “I salute the investment and skills implemented by our teams, those of TechnicAtome, the DGA, the CEA, the French Navy, as well as all our partners.”

He added: “The achievement of this new stage is a demonstration of the know-how of the French naval industrial sector, which works with pride in the service of our armed forces.

The lead boat of the class, Suffren, was commissioned in November 2020 and reached full operational capability in summer 2022; the second, Duguay-Trouin, followed suit in July 2023 and entered full active service in April last year.

The third Barracuda sub produced for the French Navy, Tourville, was commissioned in November 2024. Two more boats, Rubis and Casabianca, are planned; all six are scheduled to be delivered by 2030.

They are about 100 metres long and displace 5,300 tonnes when submerged; they are propelled by K15 nuclear reactors and can reach speeds of more than 25 knots underwater. They can be armed with land-attack and anti-ship missiles as well as heavyweight torpedoes and mines.

A conventionally-powered variant, the Orka class, is also being produced for the Royal Netherlands Navy.

• You can read more about the Suffren-class submarines on the Naval Group website