Naval Group delivers the third Suffren-class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) named the Tourville to the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA). Naval Group has now delivered 3 of the 6 Suffren class nuclear attack submarines destined for the French Navy to the DGA, in the last four years.
The delivery of the Tourville follows that of the SSN Suffren in 2020 and that of the Duguay-Trouin in 2023, while the other three submarines in the program – the De Grasse, Rubis and Casabianca- are all currently under construction at various stages of completion at Naval Group’s Cherbourg site. The De Grasse will be transferred to the launch facility in spring 2025.
This series of 6 submarines is part of the Barracuda program led by French Defence Procurement Agency in partnership with the the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA)) for nuclear boilers. These submarines aim to replace the Rubis-class submarines in service with the French Navy.
Naval Group is responsible for the production of this series of submarines, from design to shipbuilding, for manufacturing the main components of the nuclear boilers developed and built with TechnicAtome, and for providing logistical support and ship maintenance in Toulon.
This is the result of a tight cooperation with partner agencies, which have benefited from feedback from the Suffren and Duguay-Trouin. Final stage before operational trials and admission to active service by the French Navy, the delivery of the Tourville follows a 4-month long sea trials campaign that began on July 12.
These tests followed the commissioning of the nuclear boiler room in April 2024, and the dockside trials carried out since the submarine’s transfer to its launching gear on July 20, 2023. Prior to this, operations carried out in the dry dock integration bay, then in the water, enabled equipment and systems to be tested.
Following the Tourville’s admission to active service, the French Navy will operate more Suffren-type submarines than Rubis.
Team Bharatshakti
