The ''Triomphant'' class of ballistic missile submarines of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

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 These four superseded the older , and they provide the ocean-based component (the ''

Force océanique stratégique The Strategic Ocean Force (french: Force océanique stratégique, FOST) has been the synonym of the French Submarine Forces since 1999, which the commandant commands the ensemble related to, along with the squadron of nuclear attack submarine ...

'') of France's

nuclear deterrent Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...

strike force, the ''

Force de dissuasion The ''Force de frappe'' (French: "strike force"), or ''Force de dissuasion'' ("deterrent force") after 1961,Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. p104 is the designation of what used to be a triad of a ...

'' (deterrence force). Their home port is

Île Longue Île Longue ( French for "Long Island") is a peninsula of the roadstead of Brest in the department of Finistère in the Brittany region. It is the base of the SNLE, the French ballistic missile submarines, and as such one of the most secretive ...

Roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (''rade de Brest'') is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The port of Brest and one of the two French naval ...

, Western Brittany.

Design and construction

The first three boats were originally armed with the French-produced and armed M45 intermediate-range missile, and the fourth vessel, , tested and is equipped with the more advanced M51 missile. Each of the first three boats were retrofitted to the M51 missile standard, with the last M45 offloaded in 2016.

Next Generation Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine

In French, these are called ''Sous-Marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins de Nouvelle Génération'' (English: "Next Generation Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine"), 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 (submarines), 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 ''Le Terrible''. These boats were all constructed by the DCNS, and they carry an armament of 16

M45 SLBM M45 or variants may refer to: Military equipment * Carl Gustaf m/45, a 9×19mm Swedish submachine gun * M45, a variant of the M26 Pershing heavy/medium tank of the United States Army * M45 (missile), a French Navy submarine-launched ballistic m ...

or M51 SLBM missiles manufactured by the Aérospatiale company (now Airbus Defence and Space), plus conventional

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es and

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...

List of submarines

The French Navy's goal is to operate a force of four ballistic missile submarines (comparable with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's s), of which two are expected to be on patrol at any given time.

Service history

On 3 February or 4 February 2009, ''Le Triomphant'' collided with the

submarine ; the Royal Navy boat received damage to the outer casing in the area of the missile compartment on the starboard (right) side and suffered very visible dents and scrapes. ''Le Triomphant'' was reported to have proceeded to

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

under her own power, submerged, but with damage to her active sonar dome under her bow.

Gallery

File:Snle-snle-ng-svg.svg, Comparison of different nuclear systems: left, the SNLE ('' Redoutable'' type) with the M4 missile; right, the SNLE-NG (''Triomphant'' type) with the M45 missile and the M51 missile. File:SNLE-NG.jpeg, ''Le Vigilant''

References

External links

{{SSBN classes in service Submarine classes Nuclear-powered submarines Ballistic missile submarines Ship classes of the French Navy