France heralded the future of its undersea warfighting capability with the launch of the Suffren, first in a new class of six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), at Cherbourg on 12 July. Ordered in 2006, the Suffren is part of the Barracuda program. The 326-foot boat has a 29-foot beam and a 4,600-ton surface displacement—5,300 tons submerged. Increased automation allows for a crew size of only 65. In addition to improved quieting and detection capabilities, the Suffren will be able to transport and deploy special forces by means of a diving hatch and an optional drydock shelter. The submarines are fitted with four 21-inch bow torpedo tubes and can carry naval cruise missiles for strike operations, modernized SM39 Exocet antiship missiles, and F21 wire-guided heavyweight torpedoes. The Suffren is scheduled to enter service in the early 2020s. All six submarines of the class are expected to be delivered by 2030 to replace the current Améthyste-class (also known as Rubis-class) SSNs, which entered service between 1983 and 1993.
Germany has announced acquisition plans for a new two-ship class of Type 707 double-hulled replenishment tankers. They will replace its aging class of single-hulled Type 704 replenishment oilers—the Spessart (pictured here) and the Rhön—which entered service in the 1970s and whose use has become operationally problematic and environmentally untenable in recent years. In addition to benefiting from the enhanced safety inherent in a double-hulled design, the new tankers will be notably larger than their Type 704 predecessors—at 558 feet, the Type 707s will be 131 feet longer and at 20,000 tons, will displace an additional 6,000 tons. With an enhanced fuel transfer rate, a fuel-carrying capacity of 15,000 cubic meters, provisions to embark up to 20 cargo containers, and a top speed of 20 knots, the new auxiliaries will be significantly more capable than their predecessors. The ships are expected to begin entering service in 2024.
The British Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s fourth and final Tide-class replenishment tanker, the RFA Tideforce, entered service on 30 July. Ordered in 2012 and built under the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) program, the Tideforce and her three older sisters—Tidespring, Tiderace, and Tidesurge—replaced the Rover- and Leaf-class fleet tankers. The new support ships provide supply and replenishment capabilities to British maritime forces and allied naval assets and were custom designed to operate with the Royal Navy’s two new Queen Elizabeth–class aircraft carriers. Tide-class oilers have a hangar for a medium-sized vertical replenishment aircraft and can operate Chinook, Merlin, or Wildcat helicopters from their flight decks. The large 659-foot, 39,000-ton tankers have a 94-foot beam, a 33-foot draft, and a top speed in excess of 26 knots. Crewed by 63 personnel, the ships can transport 19,000 cubic meters of fuel and 1,300 cubic meters of fresh water.