After spending more than 18 months undergoing modernization work at the Naval Base in Brest, the ballistic submarine Le Vigilant of the French Navy has departed for the Operational Base l’Île Longue to enter the final phase of said process, with a return to active service expected for next year. In the near future, the submarine must undergo the final phase of rearmament, carry out the refueling of the nuclear fuel that powers its reactor, and pass a technical re-evaluation in preparation for its return to the fleet.
As a whole, the process known as Indisponibilité Périodique pour Entretien et Réparations (IPER) constitutes a period of maintenance and modernization that is normally carried out every ten years, which makes it possible to ensure that the vessel complies with current operational requirements and the reliability of its components in the face of wear. On this occasion, the process involved around 45 local companies, which are carrying out the work under the coordination of the company Naval Group and the French Directorate General of Armament; the defense procurement and technology agency of the French government.
Regarding the details concerning the IPER process in which the submarine Le Vigilant is currently involved, both the aforementioned company and the French defense ministry have refrained from providing specifics, revealing only a series of images that allowed the observation of structures around its sail. Beyond this, it is reasonable to assume, based on similar processes carried out previously, that the vessel will undergo hull repair work, reactor tuning, and the replacement of sensors considered already obsolete. It is worth recalling that the Triomphant class, to which the vessel in question belongs, has already been in service with the French Navy for nearly three decades.
It should be mentioned in relation to the latter, that Le Vigilant is the third of the Triomphant class to be accepted into the institution, having been launched during the year 2003 and commissioned a year later. Since then, the vessel has been integrated into France’s Strategic Oceanic Force, one of the two pillars of the country’s nuclear deterrent capabilities; which, along with the United Kingdom, is part of the small club of European countries that possess this power independently. In particular, the submarine has in its arsenal the modern M51 ballistic missiles, successors to the M45 missiles with which the class was originally equipped.
*Image credits: Naval Group
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