On July 12, 2019, the French shipbuilding association Naval Group in Cherbourg held the official launching ceremony of the head nuclear multipurpose submarine of the Barracuda class, named Suffren. The boat was named after the 18th century French admiral, whose full name was Pierre-Andre de Suffren de Saint-Tropez. For the French, this is an undisputed hero, distinguished, in particular, in the Seven Years' War, in the War of Independence of the North American colonies and in the confrontation with the British Empire in the Indian Ocean. In the latter case, Suffren, with very little help from the mother country, was able to capture fifty British ships. And France restored its influence on the coast of India.
However, Admiral Suffren probably would not be happy with what is happening with the French fleet. Recall that the head submarine of the "Barracuda" type launched now was laid down in 2007, and it is planned to transfer it to the fleet in 2020, if nothing changes. Against this background, even such a long-term construction as the Russian submarine of project 885 K-561 "Kazan" no longer seems so long-term: it, we recall, was laid down in 2009, and it is also planned to be commissioned in 2020. American nuclear-powered submarines of the Virginia type are even inconvenient to recall: Americans can build one such submarine in a few years.
At the same time, frankly speaking, "Barracuda" is not "Ash" or "Virginia" at all. Formally, all three submarines belong to the MPLATRK (multipurpose nuclear torpedo submarine with cruise missiles). But the underwater displacement of the French submarine is 5300 tons, while the project 885 has this figure of 13800 tons, and the underwater displacement of the "American" is 7800 tons. The crew of the French submarine is also, accordingly, smaller - only 60 people. This is a little more than it serves on the Soviet diesel-electric "Varshavyanka".
We know from open sources that the Barracuda has four 533 mm bow torpedo tubes. 20 rounds of ammunition can be made up of Black Shark torpedoes and Scalp Naval (MdCN) and Exocet sea-launched cruise missiles. In addition, the submarine will be able to carry up to twelve special forces with equipment in a special module attached to the submarine. Of course, this is far from what you expect from a nuclear submarine of the 21st century.
In general, all this (small size and relatively quick combat capabilities) is difficult to surprise those who are interested in the history of the French fleet. After all, as you know, "Barracuda" is replacing the multipurpose submarine "Ryubi" - the smallest nuclear submarine in the world, of all modern submarines. Its length is 73 meters, and its underwater displacement is 2607 tons. Against her background, "Barracuda" is a real giant. Although, of course, many drew attention to the similar features of the submarines, in particular the forward-leaning wheelhouse: something similar could be seen on the early Russian strategic submarines Borey.
In total, the French fleet should receive six new boats instead of six old ones by the end of the 2020s. But this, again, will happen if the plans of the country's leadership do not change. And there are enough reasons for that. Suffice it to say that six Barracudas will cost the French an estimated $ 8 billion. This is a lot of money, even for the United States, which, recall, previously considered the Zamvolt-class ships too expensive and abandoned mass construction, limiting itself to three destroyers.
Calm, the wind is silent
A modern fleet is generally very expensive. And if there is no money for its construction, then perhaps it is better not to start. And although France is traditionally among the top ten countries in terms of economy and in the top five in military spending, it will obviously never be destined to compete with the leading naval powers.
This is not to say that France suddenly became "weak" or "backward", just other geopolitical players such as the United States, China or even India have gone very far. And it is almost impossible to catch up with them with the French GDP. Roughly the same can be seen in the case of the British Navy. Back in February 2017, the media reported that all three built and commissioned at that time the newest British multipurpose submarines of the Astyut class were out of order. The source also spoke about the problems with the "predecessors" of these submarines - boats of the Trafalgar type.
The situation is even more ambiguous with the newest British aircraft carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class. Recall that earlier the military of Foggy Albion refused to use launch catapults on them and, accordingly, F-35C fighters, which can be launched with their help. And the choice fell on the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft, which looks great on the decks of American universal ships, but, unfortunately for the British, has a very limited combat radius, which is critical for the main carrier-based aircraft.
One army, one fleet
We no longer considered the German fleet, which is traditionally much weaker than the navies of France and Great Britain. And they did not analyze the state of the naval forces of the economically weaker states of Europe.
However, even with such a "superficial" assessment, the conclusion suggests itself. Not a single European country in the current circumstances can afford to maintain a truly powerful fleet. Purely for economic reasons. In this regard, I recall the recent proposal of the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The politician, we recall, said that the EU countries could participate in the construction of a pan-European aircraft carrier: it must be assumed that this proposal can be considered in the context of the idea of creating a pan-European army.
“An aircraft carrier is an instrument of geopolitical power projection. Before using it, you need to formulate a single strategy. Germany is light-years away from this!"
- wrote on Twitter a German diplomat, chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger.
Some politicians have emphasized the financial costs and huge technical resources that would be required to implement something like this. However, on the other hand, it is quite clear that if a separate taken France or Britain undertakes such a project, then the risks will be much greater.
Thus, the common European fleet is seen as a continuation of the policy of France and Germany, aimed at closer military integration. And after the European sixth generation fighter and a new European tank, a European aircraft carrier and a European nuclear submarine may appear. Of course, you first need to find additional points of contact and political will. But this is better than, relying on your own resources, to create "undergrowth" who will hardly ever be able to prove themselves in battle.
