The “Tourville” submarine entry into force

On July 4, 2025, in the presence of Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, Chief of Naval Staff Nicolas Vaujour declared the SSN Le Tourville—the third of six submarines in the Barracuda program—to be admitted to active service.

This final step for Le Tourville formalizes its entry into service within the French Navy.

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 test run of its propulsion plant took place in April 2024.

The first submarine in the series, the Suffren, was commissioned by the Chief of Naval Operations in June 2022. The second in the series, the Duguay-Trouin, was commissioned in April 2024. The Barracuda program is progressing at a steady pace; the principles of modular construction allow for simultaneous work on the completion of several reactor compartments at the same time. The Cherbourg site currently houses three reactor compartments at various stages of completion.