France Begins Building the Barracuda

Over the holidays last week Defense News reported that the first steel was cut in construction of the first Barracuda class submarine.

DCNS launched production of the Barracuda new-generation nuclear attack (SSN) submarine Dec. 19, cutting the first metal plate for the lead boat, the French naval systems company said.

The first production milestone was reached less than a year after the DGA placed an order for one Barracuda boat, with options for the following in the series. A total of six Barracuda submarines are expected to be built.

DCNS is also working on detailed design definition studies for the Barracuda. The new boat, which replaces the Rubis/Améthyste class, will shape the future of DCNS’s submarine business for the next 15 years and draw on competences of most departments in the company, DCNS said.

There really hasn't been much coverage of this event, or the Barracuda class in general. That is probably because DCNS is giving themselves plenty of time to insure the quality of work, this first in class, which will be called Suffren, will not be delivered until 2016.

If the original schedule remains true, the second boat will not be delivered until mid 2019, with each subsequent delivery every two years through around 2017. The names of the 6 submarines will be Suffren, Duguay-Trouin, Dupetit-Thouars, Duquesne, Tourville, and De Grasse, as you might note the Barracuda class will be named for historic Frenchmen who roamed the oceans in the 17th and 18th centuries.