Triomphant-class submarine

Le Téméraire
Class overview
Name	Triomphant class
Builders	DCNS
Operators	French Navy
Preceded by	Redoutable class
Succeeded by	SNLE 3G[2]
Cost	€17.1 billion (2009) for 4 units €3.1 billion (2009)[1] for Le Terrible
Built	1986–2010
In commission	1997–present
Planned	4
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	12,640 tonne (surfaced) 14,335 tonne (submerged)
Length	138 m (453 ft)
Beam	12.50 m (41.0 ft)
Draught	10.60 m (34.8 ft)
Propulsion	K15 LEU 7%;[3] with turboreductor pump-to-shaft system of 30,5 MW Power : 30,519 kW (40,927 hp) two emergency diesel-powered generators SEMT Pielstick 8PA4V200 SM (700 kW (940 hp)) auxiliaries.
Speed	Over 25 kn (46 km/h)
Range	Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Test depth	Over 400 m (1,300 ft)
Complement	15 officers 96 sailors
Sensors and processing systems	Sonar DMUX 80 Sonar DUUX 5 Sonar DSUV 61B Very Low Frequency Racal Decca radar (navigation) SCC : SET (Système d'exploitation Tactique) : tactical operational system
Electronic warfare & decoys	ARUR 13
Armament	Nuclear: 16 M45 or M51 missiles with six to ten TN 75 150 kt[4][5] or TNO 100-300 kt thermonuclear warheads[6][7] Four 533 mm (21 in) F17 torpedoes and Exocet SM39 anti-ship missiles, launchable while submerged

The Triomphant class of

In French, these are called Sous-Marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins de Nouvelle Génération (English: "Next Generation Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine"), abbreviated as SNLE-NG. They have replaced all of the Redoutable-class boats, with the last of those six boats being decommissioned in 2008. These submarines carry 16 submarine-launched ballistic missile launching tubes apiece.

This class reportedly produces approximately 1/1000 of the detectable noise of the Redoutable-class submarines, and they are ten times more sensitive in detecting other submarines.^[9] Initially armed with the M45 missile, they are designed to carry the new M51 missile, which entered active service in 2010. As of October 2010^[update], an M51 has been test-fired from one of these submarines across the Atlantic Ocean from near France to the west, and is equipped on Le Terrible.

These boats were all constructed by the

The French Navy's goal is to operate a force of four ballistic missile submarines (comparable with the Royal Navy's Vanguard-class submarines), of which two are expected to be on patrol at any given time.

Service history

On 3 February or 4 February 2009, Le Triomphant collided with the Royal Navy submarine HMS Vanguard; the Royal Navy boat received damage to the outer casing in the area of the missile compartment on the starboard (right) side and suffered very visible dents and scrapes.^[11] Le Triomphant was reported to have proceeded to Brest under her own power, submerged, but with damage to her active sonar dome under her bow.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Comparison of different nuclear systems: left, the SNLE (

  M51 missile

  .
• 
  Le Vigilant

See also

• List of submarines of France
• List of submarine classes in service
• Submarine forces (France)
• Future of the French Navy
• Submarine-launched ballistic missile

References

1. ^ "French Audit Report Reveals Weapon Prices, A400M Details". Defence-aerospace. 18 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
2. ^ "SNLE de 3è génération : la mise en chantier prévue pour 2023". Corlobe. 26 October 2018.
3. ^ "Examination of the U.S. Navy Proposed Conversion of the Nuclear Fleet from Highly Enriched Uranium to Low Enriched Uranium" (PDF). Retrieved 31 August 2023.
4. ^ ^{a b} "La marine française met un quatrième sous-marin nucléaire en service". AFP. Retrieved 7 January 2020 – via Google news.
5. ^ "IA M51 : Chape de plomb sur le nucléaire". Mer et Marine. 4 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
6. ^ Kristensen, Hans. "France" (PDF). Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Weapon Modernization Around the World. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Retrieved 11 April 2013 – via FAS.
7. ^ Reif, Kingston (8 December 2009). "Nuclear weapons: The modernization myth". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
8. S2CID 151142543
   .
9. ^ "Le Triomphant". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
10. Ministry of Defense (France). 1 October 2010. Archived from the original
    on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
11. ^ ^{a b} "Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic". BBC News. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Le Triomphant class submarines.