France rolls out new nuclear-powered attack submarine

French shipbuilding company Naval Group rolled out the new Duguay-Trouin S636 nuclear-powered attack submarine from its Cherbourg dockyard on Friday, local media reported.

The 4,500-ton Duguay-Trouin S636, the second of its Barracuda (or Suffren) Class submersibles destined for the French Navy by the end of 2022, can fire MdCN land-attack cruise missiles.

Known as easy to deploy, mobile, and versatile, the company said that one of the Barracuda Class submarines’ missions is to support and protect the nuclear ballistic missile submarines of France’s Strategic Oceanic Force.