Die französische Marine hat das Atom-U-Boot De Grasse erhalten, das vierte der Suffren-Klasse.

Google translate:
On June 24, exactly four months after the start of its sea trials, the nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) De Grasse, the fourth of the Barracuda (or Suffren) class, was handed over by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) to the French Navy. This followed the departure of the Perle (Rubis class) from the Toulon naval base to Cherbourg for dismantling.

The SNA De Grasse was delivered almost a year after the SNA Tourville entered active service and the official inauguration, in Toulon, of the Missiessy No. 2 [or MY02] basin, which underwent a major modernization project to enable it to accommodate the Suffren-class submarines.

Supervised by engineers and technicians from the DGA, the Directorate of Military Applications of the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission [DAM/CEA], Naval Group and TechnicAtome, the De Grasse trials consisted of verifying all of its technical capabilities.

All the tests were conducted under the supervision of engineers and technicians from the DGA, the CEA’s military applications division, Naval Group and TechnicAtome, and carried out by submariners from the French Navy. They made it possible to verify all the technical capabilities of the submarine, first in the English Channel and then in the Atlantic Ocean.

„The French Navy will now be able to begin the operational testing phase in preparation for the De Grasse’s entry into active service, scheduled for 2026. These tests will allow us to verify the ship’s military performance under conditions of use close to those of theaters of operation,“ the DGA indicated, via a press release issued on June 25.

Only after this long-duration deployment (LDD) will the De Grasse be commissioned into active service. Based on previous nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) delivered, this process should be completed within eight months at the latest.

With the four Suffren-class submarines already delivered, the Nuclear Attack Submarine Squadron [ESNA] currently has five units, with the withdrawal of the Améthyste [Rubis-class] nuclear attack submarine planned for 2027/28.

Construction of the last two SSNs of the Barracuda program, namely the Rubis and the Casabianca, is underway. They are expected to be delivered in 2028 and 2029 respectively, in accordance with the 2024-30 Military Programming Law [LPM].

As a reminder, with a submerged displacement of 5,300 tons, a length of 99 meters, and a diameter of 8.8 meters, the De Grasse boasts sensors ten to fifteen times more advanced than those used by the Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines. Even more stealthy than the latter, it is armed with modernized Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles, F-21 wire-guided heavy torpedoes, mines, and naval cruise missiles (MdCN). Finally, it features a dry deck shelter for deploying a third-generation underwater propulsion system (PSM3G) used by naval commandos.