Routine maintenance of Le Triomphant-class SSBNs: DCNS selected once again

: Posted On Wednesday, 23 November 2016 09:49

Naval Industry News - France

Routine maintenance of Le Triomphant-class SSBNs: DCNS selected once again

The French Navy Fleet Support Department has just awarded to DCNS the through-life support contract for the four ballistic nuclear submarines based in Brest. This new contract is awarded for a total duration of almost nine years. It represents a direct follow-on to the previous SSBN routine maintenance contracts.

A Le Triomphant-class SSBN submarine. DCNS picture.

This contract, which entered into force on 16 November 2016, covers over fifty technical shutdowns until 2025 on Le Triomphant-class, type M51 SSBNs. Each will last a few weeks between two patrol missions.

In total, some five hundred DCNS employees, spread across the dedicated shipyard (forward base on Ile Longue) and the back-office in Brest, are involved in the routine maintenance of the four SSBNs, Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible.

As for the previous contracts, the activities of DCNS, the prime contractor, are as follows:
- Technical shutdowns and associated logistics
- Engineering services
- Maintenance of crew-training platforms.

DCNS will locally subcontract part of the work related in particular to handling, painting… and will rely on the main system suppliers for certain specific installations.

DCNS is also the prime contractor for the main fairings of the SSBNs. Furthermore, since 2010, the Group has been working on their adaptation so they could carry the new M51 (IA M51) strategic missile developed under the project management of the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement). DCNS has thus been contributing to the uninterrupted presence of the French nuclear deterrent for over forty years.

A Le Triomphant-class SSBN submarine. DCNS picture.

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