L'Inflexible (S 615)
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- For other uses, see HMS Inflexible.
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Length: | 130 m |
| Displacement: | 9,000 tons (submerged) |
| Complement: | 115 men |
| Power Plant: | One PWR |
| Power: | 16,000 shp |
| Speed: | 25 knots |
| Armament: | 16 M4 MSBS (Mer Sol Balistique Strategique) nuclear missiles |
L'Inflexible S616 is the 6th and last of the Redoutable class SNLE ("Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins", "Nuclear Missile-Launching Submarine") of the FOST, the submarine nuclear deterrent component of the French Navy.
Construction began on March 27, 1980; launched on June 23, 1982, it was commissioned on April 1, 1985.
L'Inflexible uses basically the same design as the other Redoutable-class vessels, but has yet benefited from technological advances over its predecessors:
- It uses the M4 missile, which carries 6 independent 150 kilotonne of TNT equivalent nuclear warheads. Range is reported to be "over 4500 km".
- Miscellaneous improvements were made in electrical systems, nuclear systems (improving safety and stealth), rudder and engines (improving reability and stealth).
- TIT (Traitement de l'Information Tactique, "Tactical Information Processor"), a cluster of French-designed computers and serial digital bus links for intersystem communication.
- DMUX21 sonar.
- Capability of launching the SM 39 Exocet anti-ship missile
- Improved inertial navigation system.
- Improved internal communication system—SNTI, Système Numérisé de Transmissions Intérieures (Digital Internal Communication System)
- Miscellaneous acoustical stealth improvements
- Improved hull profile
The other Redoutable-class submarines have been modified to meet the standards of the Inflexible ("Refonte M4"). The Inflexible is to be decommissioned around 2008.
[edit] Trivia
L'Inflexible has inspired Le Soleil ne se lève pas pour nous ("No sunrise for us") by Robert Merle, a 1987 semi-fictionous book in form of a romanced documentary.
