“Tourville” is now one the French Navy’s submarines

Another milestone has been reached for the Barracuda program: on November 16, 2024, the Direction Générale de l’Armement accepted delivery of the Tourville, the third of the program’s six SSN. It was transferred to the French Navy.

The next step is the submarine’s commissioning into active service following a series of operational testings conducted by the Navy to confirm its military capabilities.

TechnicAtome is responsible for the design and construction of the nuclear propulsion plant, which provides the submarine with greater availability, energy capacity, and nuclear safety compared to previous generations.

The first submarine in the series, the Suffren, was delivered to the Navy in November 2020 and commissioned into active service by the Chief of Naval Operations in June 2022. The second in the series, the Duguay-Trouin, was delivered in July 2023 and commissioned into active service in April 2024. The delivery pace for the remainder of the Barracuda series is accelerating, reaching an average rate of one reactor  delivered every two years. The principles of modular construction allow work to proceed simultaneously on the construction of several reactors at the sa e time, the Cherbourg site currently houses three reactors at various stages of completion.