Triomphant-class submarine


The Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of the French Navy is the active lead boat class of four boats that entered service in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2010. These four superseded the older, and they provide the ocean-based component of France's nuclear deterrent strike force, the Force de Frappe. Their home port is Île Longue, Roadstead of Brest, Western Brittany.

Design and construction

The first three boats are all armed with the French-produced and armed M45 intermediate-range missile, and the fourth vessel,, has tested and is equipped with the more advanced M51 missile. Each of the first three boats are to be retrofitted to the M51 missile standard, starting with in 2010, then, and ending with in 2018.

SNLE-NG

In French, these are called Sous-Marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins de Nouvelle Génération, abbreviated as SNLE-NG. They have replaced all of the boats, with the last of those six boats being decommissioned in 2008. These submarines carry 16 submarine-launched ballistic missile launching tubes apiece.
This class reportedly produces approximately 1/1000 of the detectable noise of the Redoutable-class boats, and they are ten times more sensitive in detecting other submarines. Initially armed with the M45 missile, they are designed to carry the new M51 missile, which entered active service in 2010., an M51 has been test-fired from one of these submarines across the Atlantic Ocean from near France to the west, and is equipped on Terrible.
These boats were all constructed by the DCNS, and they carry an armament of 16 M45 SLBM or M51 SLBM missiles manufactured by the Aérospatiale company, plus conventional torpedoes and Exocet anti-ship missiles.

List of submarines

The French Navy's goal is to operate a force of four ballistic missile submarines, of which two are expected to be on patrol at any given time.
NameConstruction beganLaunchedCommissioned
9 June 198626 March 199421 March 1997
18 December 199321 January 199823 December 1999
January 199619 September 200326 November 2004
24 October 200021 March 200820 September 2010

Service history

On 3 February or 4 February 2009, Le Triomphant collided with the Royal Navy submarine ; the Royal Navy boat suffered minor scrapes and scratches. Le Triomphant was reported to have proceeded to Brest under her own power, submerged, but with extensive damage to her sonar dome.

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