FS Suffren

FS Suffren Story

FS Suffren will lead the planned fleet of six-man Suffren-class (aka Barracuda) submarines for the modern French Navy. As of the end of 2016, three ships were under construction. Originally slated to be commissioned in 2017 and now scheduled to be commissioned in 2018, the FS Suffren will be built by French DCNS in Paris.

The stage will drain in the 5,000-ton range and will be nuclear powered. The design is influenced by previous ships of the Triomphant class that debuted in 1997, and incorporates the latest in acoustic damping.

As planned, the Suffren will have an overall length of 326 feet, a beam of 29 feet, and a draft of 24 feet. The surface displacement is 4,765 tons and the underwater displacement is 5,300 tons. The crew size is 60, including 12 officer-level staff.

The boat's profile is traditional, with mid-mounted sails, a rounded bow and a tapered stern. At the rear is an X-shaped aircraft assembly and a ducted propeller unit.

Propulsion for the Suffren is controlled by the K15 nuclear reactor unit, which outputs 200,000 horsepower for underwater navigation. Water travel is through 2 turbo reducer units producing 13,000 hp, both arrangements driving a single axle aft.

Also carries a pair of emergency power engines and a pump jet. Due to its nuclear propulsion concept, the FS Suffren will have essentially unlimited operating range - limited only by crew fatigue and 70 days of onboard food storage.

Surface speeds will reach 14 knots, while underwater speeds will reach over 25 knots.

Airborne systems will ensure smooth sailing and advanced detection and tracking of enemy elements at sea and below. Sensors and processing equipment include Velox-M8, SEACLEAR and SYCOBS systems.

The weapon is centred on a 4 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tube mounted on the bow. Twenty torpedo reloads will be carried, but the launchers will also have built-in capabilities, anti-ship missiles (SM. 39 Exocet Block 2) and cruise missiles. If necessary, the ship will also be able to lay mines (FG29 series).

An important tactical attribute of modern submarines is the ability to fire these weapons while fully submerged.

The

Suffren class is expected to replace the idled 2,660 ton displacement six-vessel Rubis class fleet from 2018. In addition to the class leader FS Suffren, sister ships FS Duguay-Trouin, FS Tourville, FS Dupetit-Thouars, FS Duquesne and FS De Grasse.

Commissioning of this class will run from 2018 to 2929, with all ships expected to build their home port in Toulon.

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