For centuries, the best naval strategy was to build larger and larger ships. Galleons, battleships and, later, aircraft carriers that became symbols of the military power of the great powers. However, in the 21st century something paradoxical happens: The most sophisticated technology is no longer the one that dominates the surface of the ocean, but rather the one that manages to disappear beneath it.
Thus we arrive at a new class of submarines. France has just officially incorporated the Tourville, the third nuclear attack submarine of the new Barracuda class (the remaining two, the Rubis and Casabianca, are already being built), a generation designed for a very different mission from that of its predecessors: to go completely unnoticed. More than an evolution of traditional submarines, it represents a concentrate of engineering whose objective is to solve a single problem: that no one knows where it is.
With about 99 meters in length and a displacement of about 5,800 tons When sailing submerged, the Tourville might simply look like a huge metal cylinder. However, its true value lies not in its size, but in the amount of technology hidden under its hull. Because, in reality, a modern submarine does not fight its battles with sight, it fights them with hearing. In the depths of the ocean there is hardly any light, but sound travels with enormous efficiency through the water: up to 4 times faster and farther than in the air. Any vibration produced by an engine, a propeller or even a hydraulic pump can reveal its position hundreds of kilometers away using sophisticated sonar systems. For this reason, a good part of the Tourville’s engineering is dedicated to combating an invisible enemy: noise.
The engineers responsible for its design have mechanically isolated the internal equipment to prevent vibrations from reaching the hull. The shape of the submarine has been optimized to reduce water resistance and Its propeller is designed to minimize a phenomenon known as cavitation, small bubbles that appear when the blades spin too fast. and that produce an easily detectable sound. The less noise a submarine generates, the more difficult it is to locate it.
Silence is so important that, during the Cold War, the Americans and Soviets invested billions of dollars in developing propellers capable of reducing underwater noise by just a few decibels. At the bottom of the ocean, a difference almost imperceptible to the human ear could decide who detected the adversary first. The other big difference with respect to a conventional submarine is in its propulsion system. Although it is popularly referred to as a “nuclear submarine”, this does not mean that it necessarily carries nuclear weapons. The term refers to the engine.
Instead of relying on diesel engines that need to periodically surface for oxygen, the Tourville uses a nuclear reactor capable of generating power for years without refueling. Thanks to this, it can remain submerged for months. The limit stops being the fuel and becomes something much more human: the amount of food stored and the physical and psychological resistance of its crew.
This reactor also powers an authentic information processing center. Dozens of sensors continuously collect data about the marine environment: active and passive sonars, navigation systems, maps of the ocean floor and Surveillance teams work simultaneously to build a three-dimensional representation of the outside world. In a way, the submarine functions as an autonomous vehicle that constantly analyzes the ocean while helping the crew make decisions.
But the Tourville isn’t just designed for hiding. It can also attack very different targets. It is prepared to launch heavy F21 torpedoes against other submarines or ships, Exocet anti-ship missiles and MdCN cruise missiles.capable of reaching targets located more than a thousand kilometers away without the need for the submarine to surface. In addition, it has a special lock to deploy commandos and unmanned underwater vehicles, also becoming a platform for special operations.
All this makes the Barracuda series much more than a submarine. Is a technological platform where nuclear engineering, artificial intelligence, underwater acoustics, advanced materials and navigation systems of enormous precision coexist.
The Barracuda program also represents a change in philosophy for the French navy. It is not just a matter of replacing old submarines with new ones, but rather integrating more advanced sensors, much superior automation, an extremely reduced acoustic signature and a long-range attack capability into the same platform. The result is a system capable of detecting its adversaries earlier, remaining hidden for longer and acting with greater precision.