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Home» News»French Navy’s New SSN ‘Suffren’ in Brest to Begin Deep Water Tests
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'Suffren' pulling into Brest
'Suffren' pulling into Brest. DGA picture.

French Navy’s New SSN ‘Suffren’ in Brest to Begin Deep Water Tests

The French Navy (Marine Nationale)'s first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) "Suffren" is now in Brest to begin phase 2 of its sea trials: This will consist in deep water tests.

Xavier Vavasseur 08 Jun 2020

The next generation submarine nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) started its sea trials with a static dive test on April 28. As we reported previously, the sea trails are planned in three phases:

  • Phase 1 took place around Cherbourg (where Naval Group’s submarine shipyard is located and where the first static diving was conducted)
  • Phase 2 in Brest area, in Britanny (for deep diving tests)
  • Phase 3 in Toulon area (in the late summer of 2020) for tests of the weapon systems. This is where the SSN will eventually be commissioned in late 2020 and home ported.

The need to transition to Brest area for deep water tests is because waters around the English Channel/Cherbourg area are too shallow.

Fier d'accueillir ce matin en rade de @BrestFr, en compagnie de Vincent Martinot-Lagarde et Eric Balufin de @navalgroup, le SNA SUFFREN. Ce sous-marin, en période d'essais, donnera à la @MarineNationale des capacités opérationnelles remarquables.⚓🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/hUsjtrQLMC

— Jean Louis LOZIER (@LozierLouis) June 7, 2020

About Suffren-class SSN

Suffren and NH90 NFH helicopter
Suffren and NH90 NFH helicopter. French Navy picture.

The Suffren-class is designed to replace the Rubis-class in the French Navy (Marine Nationale). Naval Group is in charge of the construction of this submarines series, including the design and construction of the ship and information systems as well as the manufacturing of the main components of nuclear boiler rooms.

The “launch event” took place on July 12 2019 in presence of French president Emmanuel Macron. The actual “launch in the water” took place on August 1st, when the submarine entered the water for the first time at the Naval Group shipyard in Cherbourg, Normandie.

Suffren-class submarines specifications

French Navy SSN 'Suffren'
French Navy SSN “Suffren” off Cherbourg for its first static dive test. French Navy picture.
  • Surface displacement: 4,700 tonnes
  • Diving displacement: 5,300 tonnes
  • Length: 99 metres
  • Diameter: 8.8 metres
  • Maximum depth: > 350 meters
  • Armament: naval cruise missiles, F21 heavy-weight wire-guided torpedoes, modernized Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles
  • Hybrid propulsion: pressurized water reactor derived from the reactors on board the Triomphant-type SSBN and Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier, two propulsion turbines, two turbo generators and two electric motors
  • Crew: 65 crew members + approx. 15 commandos
  • Availability: > 270 days per year

To learn more about the Barracuda type, check out our in-depth reporting

French Navy Naval Group SSN Submarine Suffren Suffren-class 2020-06-08
Tags French Navy Naval Group SSN Submarine Suffren Suffren-class
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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