The key element of the French nuclear deterrent : The nuclear-powered and nuclear armed submarines
Lurking in the ocean, undetectable, equipped with 16 missiles each carrying several nuclear warheads, the 4 French nuclrear-powered submarines patrol successively to ensure the permanence at sea of the nuclear deterrent. They are part of the French Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST). The four actual boats are „New Generation“. The story started back in 1967 with the very first of these beasts, Le Redoutable.
In 1954, against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Americans developed the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. Three years later, the Soviet project saw the light of day with the K-3 Leninski Komsomol submarine. In 1962, President de Gaulle set up the Cœlacanthe project to create a French nuclear deterrent force. When the decision was taken in 1963, the future submarine was given the hull number Q-252. At the end of the following year, the Cherbourg arsenal began construction of its 76th submarine. On 29 March 1967, the French Navy's first nuclear submarine, the Redoutable, was launched by General de Gaulle.
The 1st generation of nuclear-powered submarines of the French Navy
A 1st generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, Le Redoutable (S611), was 128 metres long and 10.60 metres wide, had the displacement of 8,000 tonnes and speed of more than 20 knots. It was an unprecedented addition to the French Navy especially thanks to its virtually unlimited range.
For the first time in France, two crews of 135 people were assigned to a submarine. Frigate captains Louzeau and Bisson became respectively the commanding officers of the blue and red crews, formed in 1971. They took it in turns to ensure the continuity of France's deterrent force. The two crews now take it in turns to carry out missions lasting between 55 and 75 days. With this new submarine, major improvements have been made to life on board, including unlimited fresh water thanks to seawater desalination, individual bunks for the crew and the opportunity, once a week, to receive a familigram from their loved ones, a short message consisting of twenty words.
Initially equipped to carry 16 M1 missiles, they were replaced by M2 missiles when the Redoutable underwent a major refit in 1974, after its first ten patrols. 13 patrols later, between 1979 and 1980, the next refit saw the submarine modified to carry M20 missiles.
In 1991, when Le Redoutable returned to Cherbourg, after 20 years of exercises, it had carried out a total of 58 patrols, spent 3,469 days at sea and dived 90,000 hours. Renamed the same year, it became the Q685. The ship was dismantled by the Direction des Constructions Navales (now Naval Group) over a period of two years. In 1996, the Cherbourg Urban Community received Le Redoutable from the Ministry of Defence, as part of the Cité de la Mer project. After a number of necessary modifications, including the creation of a custom-built dock to accommodate the submarine, it became the first and largest nuclear submarine to be opened to visitors in 2002.
France was only the 4th country in the world to equip itself with a nuclear submarine deterrent force, and the Redoutable gave its name to the first class of nuclear submarines to be launched, comprising 6 submarines: Le Redoutable, Le Terrible, Le Foudroyant, L’Indomptable, Le Tonnant and L’Inflexible. The first submarines to be housed at the Île Longue base in Finistère, they have since been replaced by the Triomphant class submarines, which are still in service today: Lr Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible (II).
The 2nd of new generation of the SNLE
The SNLE NG (Sous-marins Nucléaires Lanceurs d'Engins de Nouvelle Génération), is known as the Triomphant type. This second generation of French SSBN follows on from Le Redoutable and is the main component of France's nuclear deterrent today. Le Triomphant, the first of the series, entered active service in 1997, followed by Le Téméraire in 1999. The next two, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible, entered service in 2004 and 2008 respectively.
Launched in the autumn of 1981, under the presidency of François Mitterrand, the programme for the new Q272 class SSBNs took more than 16 years to complete. These new nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines represented a major qualitative and quantitative leap forward in terms of detection and stealth. At 138 metres long and 12.5 metres wide, these submarines displace a weight of 12,000 tonnes on the surface and 14,200 tonnes when submerged. Able to dive deeper than their predecessors, they carry 111 sailors (16 officers, 95 men), and can travel at an average speed of 25 knots when submerged.
In addition to the submarine's defensive armament, which can be operated from the 4 torpedo tubes (F17 and F21 torpedoes, Exocet missiles), the SNLE NG carry 16 nuclear ballistic missile tubes. Although only last one, Le Terrible, was equipped with the new M51 nuclear missiles from the outset, its three sisterships were successively modernised to accommodate them between 2011 and 2018.
This generation of submarines benefits from a number of innovations. Its construction is itself a first in France. Until now, submarines were built on an inclined hold so that they could be launched into the sea. From Le Triomphant onwards, submarines were built in sections, where the sections were kept in the workshop as long as possible and fitted out to the maximum, taking advantage of good accessibility conditions.
The hull is made of 100 HLES steel, for High Elastic Limit Weldable, and can withstand pressures of 100 kg/mm2. The acoustic discretion of these boats is greatly enhanced by ingenious shock absorber systems that prevent vibrations and friction on board. The submarines were also equipped for the first time with propeller pumps, considerably reducing their noise impact. Today, these submarines are virtually undetectable. One night in February 2009, Le Triomphant and the British submarine HMS Vanguard collided because they were unable to detect each other. This accident, which defied all probability, could have had serious consequences, but fortunately did not result in any injuries or radioactive leaks. Between them, these submarines represent the quintessence of available underwater technology and the highest level of discretion yet achieved.
These technological gems required 5 million hours of design, 10 million hours of production and 50,000 hours of testing on models of various sizes. Since the average lifespan of a submarine is around forty years, construction of France's first new third-generation submarine (SNLE 3G) is due to start in 2023.
