The French Barracuda SSN program, after some years of delay is finally reaching maturity. Delays were most officially due to revisions of the future Barracuda’s roles combining multiroles suiting the relative peace after 1992 with the end of the West vs Russian First Cold War. However a greater design emphasis (perhaps mainly in the combat system) on anti-submarine warfare may have emerged with the Second Cold War from around 2014 with a new Russian threat, as well as (for the first time) a Chinese threat. Also I suspect that the Barracuda’s K15 reactor needed some extra miniaturisation from its larger K15 dimensions in the French Triomphant-classSSBNs and in the French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle.
I am advised by a French friend that first commissioned Barracuda SSN, French Ship (FS) Suffren (photo above) recently visited the UK’s largest nuclear submarine base HMNB Clydeat Faslane, Scotland starting September 22, 2022. Clyde (photo below) is of course Britain’s SSBN base and I believe British SSNs also frequently visit.
Other news is that the second Barracuda, Duguay Trouin, was launchedon September 9, 2022. Its K15 reactor (with 150MW (thermal) power) has gone “critical” (ie. nuclear fuel activated and steam produced).
Six Barracudas have long been planned, but with the resurgent Russian threat there are rumours that a 7thor even 8th Barracuda might be built.