According to a tweet published by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Armed Forces Hervé Grandjean on October 26, 2021, the French nuclear attack submarine Perle completes repairs in Cherbourg and is on the way to the military port of Toulon. It should be operational in 2023.
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Rubis class submarine Perle (Picture source: Twitter account of fiv_consulting)
The Rubis class is a series of nuclear-powered attack submarines operated by the French Navy. The class comprises six vessels and they are the most compact nuclear attack submarines to date. All submarines of the class (except for Casabianca) are named after gemstones.
Rubis-class submarines are powered by two turbo-alternators; one main motor (with an emergency electric motor); one CAS 48 pressurized water-cooled nuclear reactor rated at 48 MW; one Jeumont-Schneider auxiliary diesel-electric motor, providing a top speed of 25 knots.
The Rubis-class submarine 48 MW reactor needs no refueling for 30 years. The armament consists of Aerospatiale SM 39 Exocet anti-ship missiles launched from four 533 mm torpedo tubes; ECAN L5 Mod 3 dual-purpose torpedoes; or up to 32 FG 29 mines carried in lieu of torpedoes.
Multi-role platforms in constant evolution, the 6 SSN of the French Navy are essential to the safety and the support of French SSBN (ballistic missile submarines) operations and to the protection of a naval projection force (the carrier strike group).
They pose a "permanent threat" to potential enemies because of their ability to quickly reach a theater of operations and remain there for a long time, discreetly or, if necessary, more ostensibly. In all these zones of operations, the SSN can collect intelligence, carry out special operations, and finally, if necessary, deploy its weapons: torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and mines.
