Navy news from around the world, news & discussion

[color=red]Restart the thread, this one has obliterated the size limit![/color]

The real question for the RN is how C1 and C2 will shape up, C1 has to be a first class combatant warship if the RN is to maintain a genuine war capability whilst C2 has to be a credible warship capable of second line duties and a limited first line role.

That is exactly it. I would have thought that it would be beyond the budget but it may be worth just continuing T45 production just with them reconfigured as general purpose land attack ship. Alternatively a version of the BAe UXV (minus the ridiculous looking sponson ski-jumps) might be a good upper tier option. I am actually very supportive of the two tier concept, lets face it a T23 is just overkill for hunting drug smugglers or pirates. On the other hand the RN still needs dedicated war fighting ships.

Perhaps the warship construction drumbeat should be one warship plus one OPV/C3 a year?

The real question for the RN is how C1 and C2 will shape up, C1 has to be a first class combatant warship if the RN is to maintain a genuine war capability whilst C2 has to be a credible warship capable of second line duties and a limited first line role.

Indonesian naval aircraft crashes in sea, two dead

JAKARTA, Dec 30 (Reuters) – An Indonesian navy aircraft crashed in the sea off the coast of Aceh province after it ran into bad weather on Sunday, killing two people and injuring two others, a navy spokesman said.

Three people were still missing after the Nomad P-833, heading for Medan in North Sumatra from Sabang, an island off the western tip of Indonesia, experienced engine trouble, Iskandar Sitompul told reporters.

“The left side engine stopped working,” Sitompul said.

He said the pilot decided to fly back to Sabang but was forced to attempt an emergency water landing some 200 metres before reaching the coast.

A naval search and rescue team was looking for the missing people and the remains of the crashed plane.

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSSP159401

Perhaps the warship construction drumbeat should be one warship plus one OPV/C3 a year?

That is indeed the worry. At the moment the RN idea of an OPV is not even a truly military vessel really, our OPV’s would be considered Police or Coastguard vessels in most other countries and they just carry a nominal armament which is quite adequate for their tasking. With C3 the intention does seem to be that their tasking will be more military, and whilst they will never be first or even second line warships they will need at least some sort of self defence capability, OK they’re never going to be expected to take on enemy fleets or defend areas from air attack but they may well have to defend themselves from light units, low intensity air activity etc. for which some sort of light point defence missile system and anti-shipping missiles would be useful, especially if they could engineer some sort of modular “drop in” units. Even for anti-piracy patrols in piracy hot spots (for which the world is crying out for on station vessels like this type of large OPV) something like a 57mm or 76mm gun is now essential IMO.

“It has the advantage that it could supplement the larger & more capable ships in wartime, but I fear that the Treasury might see it as an excuse to cut the number of high-end escorts.”

This is always the dilema.

The USN distanced itsel from the CG “National Security Cutter” program in part because of this and in fact there was talk that the CG should have gone in with the USN LCS program.

However increasingly many believe the USN should buy into the CG program.

But no matter how things turn out for the USN Swerves comment above has and will always be applicable IMHO.

The program is still at early stages, but VT have proposed a derivative of the large OPV’s building for Oman (see an earlier post on this page) and are pushing the same PFI model as the River class OPV’s (see Beedall and also the VT corporate web site for details). If this was the case it’d be quite a good choice IMO as it’d give the RN an affordable sea going vessel with good running costs, good endurance and with the potential for a genuine military weapons fit if needed. Initially I’m guessing they’d be built with a 57 or 76mm gun, light cannon and a helicopter, but the Omani’s are fitting quite a capable missile suite too in Exocet and Mica.

Saw that when it was first mentioned in JDW. I think it’d be at the top end of the proposals. I must admit to being unsure whether a “real warship” style C3 is better than a basic patrol vessel. It has the advantage that it could supplement the larger & more capable ships in wartime, but I fear that the Treasury might see it as an excuse to cut the number of high-end escorts.

VT Shipbuilding, part of VT Group, has launched a new range of designs tailored to the Royal Navy’s Future Surface Combatant (FSC) requirement for flexible ships.

The FSC programme will ultimately comprise a series of variants to replace the RN’s Type 22 and Type 23 frigates as well as the existing MCM vessels and survey ships.

The first of these variants, a 100m vessel, is seen as an ideal solution to the C3 element of the FSC programme that identifies the need for an eight-ship class of general purpose vessels for worldwide deployment to fulfil tasks including minehunting, survey work and patrol duties

VT has utilised the hull of the Ocean Patrol Vessel (OPV) it is building for the Royal Navy of Oman to develop the FSC solution, although the ship has a larger equipment fit that increases displacement to just over 3,000 tonnes.

However, one of the most innovative features of the offering is that VT is using the unique financing and support model successfully employed for the RN’s River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels. VT would own the FSC vessels and charter them to the Ministry of Defence.

VT Export Sales Director Sym Taylor explained: “In this case, it makes more economic sense for the customer to contract for the lease of these ships over ten years, as opposed to five years for the Rivers. However, the principle would remain the same with the customer saving capital expenditure by paying for use on the basis of VT guaranteeing and delivering the required capability.

“The River Class programme has broken down the barrier surrounding ship PFIs and the MoD realises that this concept works. We believe that it is now the way ahead in times of constraints on budgets and could even be applied to ships close to front-line operations.”

VT is unveiling its new C3 design at the DSEi exhibition and is proposing to introduce the first of the new Class into service as early as 2012.

Further savings would be made by using existing equipment technology and introducing commonality across the whole of the FSC class in elements such as engines, other key machinery and command systems. This would also enable maximum efficiencies to be derived from training and maintenance.

Further developments in equipment technology would be incorporated as subsequent batches of FSC ships are built.

VT’s C3 design would have speeds in the region of 25 knots and would be diesel-powered, while there would be accommodation for up to 76. The ships would be built in steel but with provision for FRP composite in areas such as the masts.

The ships would essentially be compartmentalised by having the assets of a patrol vessel forward, while aft the ship would be equipped for its MCM and/or survey role. In its patrol role, armament would include guns of 76mm or 30mm calibre and provision for surface-to-air missiles if required.

MCM resources would provide a task force with front-line minehunting capability rather than having to wait for slower dedicated minehunting assets to arrive as present.

The FSC design would include the option for a flight deck to accommodate a helicopter up to Merlin size and a weather protected working deck which would accommodate four 11 metre rigid inflatables or unmanned surface vessels. These could be deployed either by ship’s crane or via a stern ramp that would include an integral launch and recovery system. Space is also available for two 20 ft ISO containers to carry additional MCM or survey assets. Additional assets may be transported on the flight deck and deployed by the ship’s crane at the expense of the capacity to simultaneously carry out helicopter operations.

“The key to this design is flexibility and affordability, while ensuring that the ship has sufficient capability to carry out the wide range of tasks required,” added Sym Taylor.

But quite a lot bigger than official statements so far suggest the RN has in mind.

From what I can see, the C3 seems to be intended to be more like a souped-up HMS Clyde . .

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.00h00100100800c007002

perhaps like the Spanish BAM –
(in Spanish, but anyone can understand the technical specs) –
http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/ and click on Unidades del Futuro, then Buque de Accion Maritima. Impossibly long URL otherwise . . .

The program is still at early stages, but VT have proposed a derivative of the large OPV’s building for Oman (see an earlier post on this page) and are pushing the same PFI model as the River class OPV’s (see Beedall and also the VT corporate web site for details). If this was the case it’d be quite a good choice IMO as it’d give the RN an affordable sea going vessel with good running costs, good endurance and with the potential for a genuine military weapons fit if needed. Initially I’m guessing they’d be built with a 57 or 76mm gun, light cannon and a helicopter, but the Omani’s are fitting quite a capable missile suite too in Exocet and Mica.

A news for new South Korea’s Navy patrol boat.

South Korea launches new patrol ship

South Korea’s Navy has launched its first Geomdoksuri-class high-speed patrol ship equipped with domestically built long-range cruise missiles and electronic warfare systems.
The 440-ton Yoon Young Ha — named after a sailor killed during a 2002 naval gun battle near the western sea border with North Korea — was unveiled June 28 at a Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction dockyard in Pusan after 23 months of development.
The ship is South Korea’s first Guided Missile Patrol Killer (PKG) built under the PKX project, initiated in 2003. The project’s aim is to guard the disputed western sea border and to replace some of the Navy’s aging 135-ton Chamsuri-class patrol boats.
“The new patrol ship will help defend the Northern Limit Line (NLL) from North Korea to a great extent, as it is capable of striking enemy boats at long range,” said Cmdr. Yoo Young-shik, a Navy spokesman.
The NLL, the sea boundary imposed by United Nations Command at the end of the Korean War in 1953, has been a point of conflict between the two Koreas. Pyongyang has never accepted it. The navies of the two Koreas clashed around the line in 1999 and 2002.
The Yoon Young Ha, 63 meters long and 9 meters wide, carries four Hae Seong (“Sea Star”) precision-guided cruise missiles with a range of 150 kilometers, built by the state-run Agency for Defense Development. The ship also has a 76mm gun fore and a 40mm cannon aft, according to a Navy press release.

The ship also features radar systems that can detect and track more than 100 aerial and ship targets simultaneously, an electronic warfare system, limited stealth capabilities and a thermal infrared imaging camera that allows its crew of 40 to locate, aim and fire at specific targets even after turning off their radar systems.
With its water-jet propeller, the PKG can reach a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour. Following sea trials, the Yoon Young Ha is scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2008.

http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=2920106

The new Dutch patrol ships look to be very similar in concept to what the RN seem to be looking for with the low end C3 part of FSC.

But quite a lot bigger than official statements so far suggest the RN has in mind.

From what I can see, the C3 seems to be intended to be more like a souped-up HMS Clyde . .

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.00h00100100800c007002

perhaps like the Spanish BAM –
(in Spanish, but anyone can understand the technical specs) –
http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/ and click on Unidades del Futuro, then Buque de Accion Maritima. Impossibly long URL otherwise . . .

Hand-Over of the Destroyer Andrea Doria

Andrea Doria, the first Horizon-class destroyer (frigate), has been handed over to the Italian Navy. (Fincantieri photo)LA SPEZIA, Italy — Two years after its launch, and 14 months after its first sea trials, the destroyer Andrea Doria was handed over by its builder to its operator. In a ceremony at Fincantieri’s shipyard at Muggiano (La Spezia), the Italian Navy ensign was hoisted on the ship, marking the official hand-over to the Navy of the first of the two Orizzonte-class (Horizon-class) destroyers ordered by Italy.

The second ship, the Caio Duilio, was launched in October 2007.

Several months will pass before the Andrea Doria reaches its Full Operational Capability (FOC), during which the complex systems that provide its considerable air-defense and command and control capabilities will be tested at sea.

The Andrea Doria and its sister ship are part of the Horizon class, a joint development with France. These ships have cutting edge air-defense capabilities as well as considerable command capabilities, allowing them to take part in, or to take command of, international operations, according to a statement by Fincantieri.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.32059818.1198863499.KQK2Ln8AAAEAAEKKZLcAAAAL&modele=jdc_34

The new Dutch patrol ships look to be very similar in concept to what the RN seem to be looking for with the low end C3 part of FSC.

The Indian Navy has lost another Sea Harrier.

Sea Harrier crashes in Goa, pilot safe

Indian Navy’s Sea Harrier fighter aircraft crashed while landing at the Dabolim Naval Air Station in Goa early on Monday.

The pilot of the jet was able to eject safely. Dabolim airport runway was closed till afternoon post the accident.

The Sea Harrier is the Navy’s frontline fighter aircraft deployed onboard the aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat.

The Harrier, which has one of the highest crash rates among military aircraft flown in India, is considered a tricky aircraft to operate but remains the only carrier borne fighter jet that the Indian Navy operates.

The Indian Navy has only a handful of Sea Harriers in service and the loss of even a single jet is considered a big loss since obtaining replacements are no longer possible since the Sea Harrier is no longer operated by any other Navy.

This is the fourth accident involving a Sea Harrier in the past one year. Earlier this year, another Sea Harrier had crashed while landing on the Navy carrier INS Viraat during a multi-nation naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.

Another fighter nose-dived into the Arabian Sea after taking off from the same airport months back killing the pilot.

Indian Navy had purchased thirty Sea Harrier aircraft in late 1980s, using 25 for operational flying and five others for training.

Over the years, the Navy has lost 11 Sea Harriers and the fighter planes have gone out of production from the British Aerospace assembly lines.

The Navy is in the process of mid-life up gradation of these fighters at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070036783&ch=12/24/2007%205:47:00%20PM

Russia Completes Hybrid Submarine

Russia’s Sevmash shipyard at the Arctic city of Severodvinsk has completed a hybrid submarine powered by a diesel-electric plant and a small nuclear reactor. Designated B-90 and named Sarov, the submarine was completed on 17 December.

The submarine is known as Project 20120 in Russian design terminology. She apparently employs the small nuclear reactor — known to some engineers as a “teakettle” — to keep a charge on the battery, providing essentially unlimited underwater endurance on relatively quiet electric propulsion. In effect, this is an Air-Indpendent Propulsion (AIP) system.

The “teakettle” concept is not new. The Soviet Navy deployed a Project 651 (NATO Juliett) cruise missile submarine (SSG) in 1986-1991 with a similar diesel-electric/nuclear plant. That craft had a pressurized-water reactor with a single-loop configuration coupled with a turbogenerator. The Soviet report stated that the sea trials “demonstrated the workability of the system, but revealed quite a few deficiencies. Those were later corrected.”

However, no follow-on efforts were undertaken at that time. (The Soviets built 16 diesel-electric Juliett SSGs from 1963 to 1968.)

The B-90 was designed by the Rubin design bureau in St. Petersburg. Construction was begun at the Krasnoe Sormovo shipyard in Nizhnii Novgorod (formerly Gor’kiy), and the submarine was then transported through the inland waterways to the Sevmash yard for completion.

There is no available information on the size of the B-90 program. In the past the Soviet Union was an early leader in AIP-type submarines. As early as 1938 the Soviets began development on a “single-drive” submarine that could operate diesel engines while submerged and surfaced. After World War II the Soviets built the Project 617 (Whale), an AIP submarine based on German technology. She was followed by 23 coastal submarines of Project A615 (Quebec), which were torpedo and gun-armed combat craft. Other AIP experiments followed.

Today several navies are operating AIP submarines, with the U.S. Navy having “borrowed” the Swedish AIP submarine Gotland in 2005-2007 to serve as an anti-submarine target for U.S. carrier task forces. The Gotland, according to Swedish officers, could not be located by U.S. naval forces in exercises until the submarine “wanted to be found.”

The Soviet B-90 may be a follow-on submarine to the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines that have been transferred in large numbers to other navies, including China and India. The B-90, especially when operating in coastal or littoral waters, could pose a significant threat to Western maritime interests.

http://www.defensetech.org/

Royal Netherlands Navy Selects Thales’s Integrated Mast

On 20 December 2007, the Netherlands’ Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Thales Nederland signed a 125 million Euro contract for the development and supply of four Integrated Masts.

The Integrated Masts will be installed on the four Ocean Patrol Vessels that are being built for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). The first ship is scheduled to be handed over to the RNLN at the end of 2010.

The Integrated Mast is a radical departure from the traditional sensor layout on board of naval vessels. One central mast structure houses all radar, optronic, and communication sensors and antennas as well as all cabinets and peripherals. The advantages of this revolutionary sensor concept are huge: better operational performance, higher operational availability, reduced ship-building time, reduced maintenance requirements and enormous savings in below-deck space.

Thales is Design Authority of the Integrated Mast and will subcontract the design and supply of the steel structure to shipyards and integrate all sensor and communication systems. The Integrated Mast is a system that allows adaptation to specific types of ships and specific sensors.

The Integrated Mast provides the solution to the sensor problems encountered on many naval platforms that often have more than 100 antennas for surveillance, communications, fire control and navigation. These systems compete for the best place on deck but may in fact block each other and cause electro-magnetic interference. Generally, this phenomenon becomes apparent after the installation of all equipment, especially if multiple suppliers are involved.

Traditional sensor and antenna arrangements significantly increase the time and costs to build naval warships. Apart from several iterations to find suitable antenna arrangements, shipyards have to negotiate with several equipment suppliers about power supplies, deck structure adaptations, electrical interfaces, cabling, cooling, etc. In addition, equipment installation is on the critical path of almost every shipbuilding program. The shipyard starts installation only after it has finished the ship including the welding, painting, installation of cabins, etc. It then brings in the above-deck and below-deck equipment components, the required cabling and wave-guides, and performs the integration. Furthermore, expensive cabling infrastructures and much valuable space are required to accommodate the various processing cabinets.

The Integrated Mast concept improves this undesirable situation: the mast and equipment are built and tested in parallel to the ship. When the ship is ready, the mast is put on the ship as a turnkey system. It has a simple interface to the ship’s power supply, cooling water supply, combat system, and mechanical deck structure, making installation a plug and play operation. The Integrated Mast concept thus reduces the time needed for shipbuilding and allows shipyards to better utilise their docks. There is a growing tendency for shipyards to reduce the time needed to build ships by using a modular design. Several prefab modules are built simultaneously and integrated at the shipyard. The Integrated Mast is the module that contains the sensors and communication equipment including the associated processing cabinets.

Netherlands OPV

The advanced Ocean Patrol Vessels to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy are flexible, long-endurance ships with a high performance, designed for tasks including embargo operations, counter drugs trafficking, and humanitarian missions. The Integrated Mast for the RNLN Patrol Vessels will contain the sensors SMILE, SEASTAR, and GATEKEEPER.

The non-rotating radars SMILE and SEASTAR have been designed to detect littoral targets that are difficult to detect by a typical rotating radar. These sensors support missions in coastal waters thanks to their inherent longer time on target and capability to operate in complicated atmospheric conditions and deal with objects with missile-resembling radar cross-sections such as birds and windmills that easily induce false alarms.

About the sensors

— SMILE, a non-rotating phased array radar with four faces that is derived from the proven SMART and APAR radar systems. SMILE’s unique concept of multibeam volume search with four active phased array faces ensures the simultaneous performance of all operational tasks at a high update rate and practically zero false alarm rate.

— SEASTAR, a non-rotating active phased array radar for naval surface surveillance. The system automatically detects and tracks asymmetric threats and very small objects such as swimmers, periscopes in all weather conditions. SEASTAR can also be used for helicopter guidance.

— GATEKEEPER, a 360° panoramic electro-optical surveillance and alerter system based on IR/TV technology. Designed to counter emerging asymmetric threats down to small boats and swimmers, GATEKEEPER increases short-range situational awareness in littoral environments.

SMILE and SEASTAR are marketed as SEAMASTER 400 and SEAWATCHER 100 for the export markets.

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales’ leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of EUR 12 billion. Thales Nederland, established in 1922, is one of the leading companies in integrated naval systems for surveillance, weapon control, combat management and system integration world-wide. (ends)

Navy Buys Patrol Ships for EUR 467 Million

THE HAGUE — Defence State Secretary Cees van der Knaap has made an agreement with several companies for the construction of four patrol ships. The ships will cost 467.8 million euros, 27.8 million more than originally budgeted.

The state secretary expects to conclude a contract next month. The main contracts for building the ships and related systems are going to Schelde Marinebouw shipyard, sister company Damen Shipyard Galatz, which will carry out the shipbuilding in Romania, and Thales Nederland.

The ships will operate in the lower part of the violence spectrum. They have a life of 25 years and will be equipped with NH90 helicopters, Van der Knaap said.

The ships are intended for coastal watch tasks in the Netherlands, the waters around the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba and international security tasks. Van der Knaap expects the first ship to be delivered to the navy in 2011 and the last in 2013.

Operating costs are expected to be 5.3 million euros per ship per year. This includes the costs of each vessel’s crew of 30.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.23623809.1163417339.RVhW@8Oa9dUAAE@uA0Y&modele=jdc_34

Pilots Say Russian Exercises a Risk

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Air operations by a Russian naval task force sailing from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean represent a potential threat to the safety of civilian flights in the area, an international pilots’ group warned Friday.

The squadron consisting of the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and two Udaloy-class destroyers represents the most ambitious Russian naval deployment since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. During its three-month tour, it is due to be joined in the Mediterranean by units of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

When it sailed across the North Sea last week, the Kuznetsov conducted air operations close to Norway’s Gullfaks offshore oil field “without communication with any air traffic or other agency,” said a statement issued by The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations to its members.

It warned civilian pilots that similar operations below 10,000 feet could occur anywhere along the fleet’s route “without prior notification.” They could also result in communications loss due to interference from military transmissions, the group said.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Oslo said Norway had notified Moscow about the potential threat to civilian helicopters serving the offshore oil platforms. The Russians replied they would curtail the flights — all of which were over international waters — and the task force moved away from the oilfields, ministry spokesman Bjorn Svenungsen said.

The cruise comes amid heightened tensions over Moscow’s fierce opposition to U.S. missile defense plans, differences over arms control treaties, and disputes over other global crises, including the fate of Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo.

In recent months, Russia’s land-based Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers also have resumed regular long-range patrols over international waters in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans — a move President Vladimir Putin described as necessary to protect the country’s security.

The 60,000-ton Kuznetsov can carry 12 Su-33 fighters and five Su-25 attack jets, along with a large number of anti-submarine helicopters. The squadron reportedly is now in the Bay of Biscay.

A spokesman for the Russian Navy said he had no immediate comment about the pilots’ group’s warning.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTzp76Qluqi3ruGg_GHaZRdxMM9AD8TLS9680

The Future of the CP-140 Aurora

OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence today confirmed its commitment to the Aurora fleet through continued modernization and structural upgrades, keeping the aircraft flying until 2020. As part of the Government of Canada’s pledge to ensure the Canadian Forces have the equipment they need and provide value for taxpayers’ dollars, the Aurora modernization will ensure that the CF continues to protect Canada’s maritime and northern sovereignty.

“The Department will capitalize on these investments by upgrading the structure on the majority of the fleet,” said the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. “The investment will keep the aircraft safe and operationally viable until 2020.”

“I am pleased to let our Aurora communities know that this valuable information gathering aircraft will continue its proud legacy,” said Lieutenant-General Angus Watt, the Chief of the Air Staff. “The Aurora will provide the Air Force with a significant surveillance capability until such time as a future replacement capability is acquired.”

As part of its reexamination of long-term projects, the Department has rescinded a work suspension and moved forward with the next phase of Aurora modernization which will incorporate radar, computer and other systems on Aurora aircraft. Core structural upgrades will also be carried out to ensure the longevity and safe operation of these 10 aircraft.

Three aircraft have been delivered under phase two of the fleet modernization program and three are undergoing these communication and navigation upgrades. The prototype aircraft for the third phase is in for a two-year modification and testing period, and is expected to fly in early 2009.

The Air Force and Navy are assessing and defining their needs for a long-range maritime surveillance aircraft to succeed the Aurora. Technology upgrades already made in the fleet may be transferred and reinvested in the replacement aircraft.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.23623809.1163417339.RVhW@8Oa9dUAAE@uA0Y&modele=jdc_34

France’s DCNS Begins Barracuda Production

DCNS launched production of the Barracuda new-generation nuclear attack (SSN) submarine Dec. 19, cutting the first metal plate for the lead boat, the French naval systems company said.
“The first plate, measuring 7.5 by 3.3 meters, for the first-of-class Suffren was shaped at an official first-cut ceremony attended by the high authorities of the French Navy and French procurement agency DGA at DCNS’s Cherbourg shipyard,” the company said in a statement.
The first production milestone was reached less than a year after the DGA placed an order for one Barracuda boat, with options for the following in the series. A total of six Barracuda submarines are expected to be built.
DCNS is also working on detailed design definition studies for the Barracuda. The new boat, which replaces the Rubis/Améthyste class, will shape the future of DCNS’s submarine business for the next 15 years and draw on competences of most departments in the company, DCNS said.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3260599&C=europe