French President Emmanuel Macron unveils France’s nuclear-powered ‘Barracuda’
submarine
French President Emmanuel Macron
unveiled France’s latest nuclear-powered ‘Barracuda’ class submarine on Friday,
a €9 billion stealth vessel programme Paris says is key to maintaining its naval presence for decades to come.
The Suffren
was presented in her dry dock in Cherbourg.
The 99-metre long black steel submarine was partially covered in the colours of the French flag.
The French government
has placed an order for six of the 5,000-tonne submarines made by Naval Group, in which defence company Thales has a 35 percent stake.
The Australian defence minister Linda Reynolds
attended the ceremony unveiling the submarine.
Australia recently ordered a non-nuclear attack class submarine fleet from the Naval Group.
The French navy expects to take delivery of the first, named “Suffren”, for sea trials in 2020 and the remainder will enter service over the following decade, replacing France’s ageing ‘Ruby’ class submarines.
Euronews