French Barracuda class submarine

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Barracuda class nuclear attack submarine

Class Overview
Type:	nuclear attack submarine
Name:	Barracuda
Number of ships:	0 (6 planned)
Preceded by:	Rubis
General characteristics
Displacement:	4765 t surfaced 5300 t submerged
Length:	99.4 m (326 ft)
Beam:	8,8 m (28.9 ft)
Draught:	7,3 m (24.0 ft)
Propulsion:	2 turboreductors groups (10 MW propulsion alternator feeding electric engines) Nuclear reactor K15, 150 MW 2 emergency electric engines One pump jet
Speed:	Over 25 knots (46 km/h) 14 knots (26 km/h), surfaced
Range:	10 years (nuclear) 50 days of food
Complement:	8 officers 48 petty officers 4 quarter-masters
Armament:	4 x 533 mm tubes 20 Missiles/torpedoes including : Scalp missiles Exocet missiles Black Shark torpedoes
Sensors and processing systems:	SYCOBS

The Barracuda class is a planned nuclear attack submarine class of the French Marine Nationale, designed by government shipbuilder DCN to replace the Rubis class submarines.

Barracudas will use technology from the Triomphant class, including pump jet propulsion. They will be fitted with vertical-launch cruise missiles for long-range strikes against land targets. Their missions will include anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, land attack, intelligence gathering, crisis management and special operations. The Barracuda will use X-shaped stern planes.

On 2006-12-22 the French government placed a €7.9 billion order for six Barracuda submarines with DCN and their nuclear powerplants with Areva-Technicatome.^[1] According to the DGA “Competition at the subcontractor level will be open to foreign companies for the first time.”^[2] The first submarine will be delivered in 2016. Alain Aupetit, DCN's Barracuda programme director, said “The gap between the delivery of boats one and two will be two-and-a-half years.... After that, we will deliver one boat every two years through to the delivery of the last submarine in 2026.”