A Suffren class submarine is one of a series of nuclear attack boats in service with the French Navy since 2020. She is extremely stealthy and she carries inside a wide array of weapons, which include anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedoes as well as anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. She was designed for open sea operations to sneak through enemy fleet without being detected, with its nuclear propulsion system enabling it to carry out long-range missions. The Suffren will replace the Rubis class boats, which had been designed and developed during the Cold War.
With a total of six submarines having been planned, the first of the class, the Suffren S635, was laid down in December 2007 and launched on July 12, 2019, being commissioned with the French Navy on November 6, 2020. The Duguay-Trouin S636 was launched in September 2022 and commissioned in July 2023. The Tourville S637 entered service in November 2024. Meanwhile the De Grasse S638 has already been launched and is undergoing sea trials. The remainder two subs have been laid down and are being built by the French firm Naval Group at the Cherbourg-en-Contentin's shipyards.
Technical Characteristics
The Suffren class submarine is the largest attack submarine in Europe (with the exception of the Russian ones), with a hull length of almost 100 m and a hull diameter of 8.8 m. Her pump-jet propulsion system, her internal vibration absorbing materials, and the hull low magnetic signature make the Suffren boat one of the stealthiest in the world. The submarine is powered by one K15 nuclear reactor, which generates 150 MW. Aside from its anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack warfare capabilities, the Suffren class is equipped with an advanced electronic system to carry out intelligence gathering operations while operating in enemy coastal regions.
Specifications
Type: nuclear-powered attack submarine
Displacement: 5,300 tons (submerged); 4,770 tons (on surface).
Length: 99.5 m (326 feet, 5 inches)
Beam: 8.8 m (28 feet, 10 inches)
Draft: 7.3 m (23 feet, 11 inches)
Propulsion: one K15 nuclear reactor, with two turbogenerator groups; two emergency diesel generators; one electrically-driven pump-jet propulsion system.
Maximum Speed: 28 knots
Range: unlimited
Endurance: until the food supply runs out.
Compliment: 60 men
Armament: four 533-mm torpedo tubes, with F21 Artemis heavyweight torpedoes; Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles; sub-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles; anti-ship naval mines.
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| The Suffren S635 cruising in the North Atlantic in 2023. |
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| The Duguay-Trouin during sea trials in the Mediterranean. |
