 Profile of the Barracuda type, with her pump-jet propeller and X-shaped stern planes. |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Barracuda |
| Operators: |  French Navy |
| Preceded by: | Rubis |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | nuclear attack submarine |
| Displacement: |
4765 t surfaced |
| Length: | 99.4 m (326 ft) |
| Beam: | 8,8 m (28.9 ft) |
| Draught: | 7,3 m (24.0 ft) |
| Propulsion: |
2 turboreductors groups (10 MW propulsion alternator
feeding electric engines) |
| Speed: |
Over 25 knots (46 km/h) |
| Range: |
10 years (nuclear) |
| Complement: |
8 officers |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
SYCOBS |
| Armament: |
4 × 533 mm tubes Exocet missiles Black Shark torpedoes |
The Barracuda class is a planned nuclear attack submarine class of the French Navy, designed by the French shipbuilder DCNS to replace the Rubis class submarines.
Barracudas will use technology from the Triomphant class, including pump jet propulsion. They will be fitted with torpedo-tube-launch cruise missiles for long-range strikes against land targets. Their missions will include anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, land attack, intelligence gathering, crisis management and special operations. The Barracuda will use X-shaped stern planes.
The Barracuda class nuclear reactor incorporates several improvements over that of the preceding Rubis. Notably, it extends the time between refuelling and complex overhauls (RCOHs) from 7 to 10 years, enabling higher at-sea availability.
In support of special operations missions, Barracudas may also accommodate up to 12 commandos, while carrying their equipment in a mobile pod attached aft of the sail.[1]
On 22 December 2006 the French government placed a €7.9 billion order for six Barracuda submarines with DCN and their nuclear powerplants with Areva-Technicatome.[2] According to the DGA “Competition at the subcontractor level will be open to foreign companies for the first time.”[3] The first submarine will be delivered in 2016. Alain Aupetit, DCN's Barracuda programme director, said “The gap between the delivery of boats one and two will be two-and-a-half years.... After that, we will deliver one boat every two years through to the delivery of the last submarine in 2026.”
The names have been selected for the Barracuda class. The first submarine will be called Suffren, and will be followed by the Duguay-Trouin, Dupetit-Thouars, Duquesne, Tourville and De Grasse, the order of these five following submarines being subject to change.[4]
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   | DCN official site - DCNS | DCNS expert naval: architecture, construction, ingénierie et nucléaire |
| | France unveils plans for new ''Barracuda'' SSNs - Navy League of the United States - Citizens in Support of the Sea Services |
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