During the course of this morning, Naval Group announced that the nuclear reactor of the fourth of the new Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarines of the French Navy has been activated, namely the unit that will bear the name De Grasse (S638), in honor of the nobleman and naval officer who took part in the U.S. War of Independence. This represents an important milestone for the construction process, also known as “divergence”, during which the boilers are ignited to remain permanently active and monitored until the vessel leaves service, thereby paving the way for the submarine to begin the alpha sea trials phase.
Providing further details, the company stated in a brief social media post that the reactor activation was carried out under the supervision of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), as well as with the support of personnel from TechnicAtome, which was responsible for its design and construction. Naval Group’s role in the process consisted of supplying the pressure vessels that house the reactor, as well as integrating them into the design of the submarines in question.
It should be recalled at this point that the French Navy is in the midst of incorporating a planned fleet of six Barracuda-class submarines, with the first three units already in active service. In particular, the first of them was Suffren, which entered the fleet in June 2022, followed by Duguay-Trouin in April 2024 and Tourville in July of this same year. In addition to De Grasse itself, the list also includes the submarines Rubis and Casabianca, which are still going through different stages of construction, with delivery targeted for 2028 and 2030 respectively. Taken together, these will be the submarines that replace the Rubis class, which has been part of French naval capabilities since the 1980s.
On the other hand, if we turn to reviewing the main strengths of the Barracuda-class design, its ability to carry out strikes behind enemy lines at great depths stands out, thanks to cruise missiles deployable from its torpedo tubes, as well as its advanced sensors for ISR-type missions and equipment that would provide significant anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Each submarine also features a modern mast system that offers 4K-quality imagery and transmits those images to all stations within the combat information center. Another noteworthy aspect lies in the ability to operate with a removable deck hangar, from which naval special operations units can be deployed.
Delving even further into its technical characteristics, each Barracuda-class submarine has a submerged displacement of 5,100 tons, contained within a length of 99 meters and a diameter of 8.8 meters; sufficient space for a crew of 63 personnel and a team of 15 commandos. According to reports, it has a maximum operating depth of around 350 meters, with a top speed of up to 25 knots thanks to its hybrid propulsion system. Finally, in terms of armament, the submarine features a wide range of capabilities consisting of F21 heavyweight torpedoes, SM-39 Exocet submarine-launched missiles, FG-29 mines, and cruise missiles launched via the MDCN SCALP Naval torpedo tube.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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