"The Barracuda program for the construction of six new generation nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN), involves the divergence of a nuclear reactor every 18 months. Quite a stunning pace! And I dare say, one that is quite unique in the world, whether in the military or civilian nuclear industry. We delivered the third SSN, Tourville, at the end of 2024 and we aim to transfer the fourth, De Grasse, to the launching facility in the spring of 2025. Naval Group is the prime contractor and is responsible for the production and maintenance of nuclear-powered vessels, as well as their dismantling and deconstruction. The vessel and its reactor are designed in parallel as the two are closely associated. Keeping the French Navy’s needs in mind, we work on finetuning the design together with the French Navy, TechnicAtome, the CEA and the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), partners with whom we are proud to collaborate. The program’s success depends on each partner’s expertise and on an excellent level of cooperation over time. These strategic programs, whether involving new construction or maintenance, enable us to demonstrate our ability to work collectively by relying on the skills of each entity.
With regard to the third-generation nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), the first contract was notified in early 2021 and we are currently manufacturing the components for the first reactor at our site of Nantes-Indret. These will be the largest nuclear-powered submarines Naval Group has ever built - a phenomenal technical feat! Given the schedules, we are going to be designing these third-generation SSBN and the future new generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG) concomitantly. The submarines will be launched around 2037 and the PA-NG is scheduled to enter into active service in 2038.
The latter will evolve from a technical point of view, with the transition to a more powerful and more compact model of reactor, making it necessary to develop new tools and change scale. From where we stand in 2025, the year 2038 seems a long way off, but it’s just around the corner! Alongside the transformation of industrial facilities at our sites in Nantes-Indret and Cherbourg, we have also launched an attractiveness campaign to recruit and train employees internally, as nuclear propulsion involves very specific skills”.
Read the full report in La Revue du CEA, available here.