The French Navy has decided to decommission the nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) Perle as early as summer 2026, Mer et Marine has learned. The Navy's confidence in the delivery timetable of its new SSNs has led it to re-examine the retirement dates of its two remaining Rubis submarines. (...) The Perle was normally expected to sail until 2028 or even beyond, having been extensively repaired following the fire that ravaged its forward section in June 2020. Following this unprecedented project, carried out by Naval Group in Cherbourg, the Perle resumed its maintenance and modernization program which had begun in November 2019 in Toulon as part of its final major overhaul (IPER). It rejoined the operational cycle in the summer of 2023. (...) "The Perle is functioning perfectly and will be used to its full potential until the end of its service life," military sources told Mer et Marine. "The refurbishment of this vessel, which was a technical feat, was successful and the Perle could have continued to operate beyond 2026," asserts another source.
(...) After a difficult period, the Barracuda program is back on track and Naval Group has not only succeeded, as promised following the lead ship Suffren's three year delay, in delivering the Duguay-Trouin (#2) in 2023 and the Tourville (#3) in 2024, but has also accelerated the rest of the series. The De Grasse (#4) will join the fleet in 2026, followed by the new Rubis (#5) in 2028 and the future Casabianca (#6) in 2029, presumably in the first half of the year. Naval Group will thus complete the program on schedule, indeed perhaps a few months ahead of schedule, which is no small feat given the lead ship's delay.
In order to remain operational until 2028 or beyond, the Perle would have had to undergo an overhaul between June 2026 and January 2027, known as an intermediate maintenance period (IE). Meanwhile, the Amethyste had already been overhauled from May to December 2024, allowing it to sail until the end of the first half of 2027, when its nuclear reactor will run out of fuel, having last been recharged 10 years earlier. Therefore, in order to save the cost of the Perle's next intermediate overhaul, it was decided to decommission it first, as early as summer 2026.
"The objective behind this early decommissioning is in fact to reduce the transition period between the Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines and the new Suffren-class submarines. It's a matter of human resources, as it's very difficult to recruit crews for two types of submarines," explains an officer. The "transition" of the last Rubis crew members to the Suffren class is now scheduled to begin in 2028 so that the transition is completed in the first half of 2029.
The new Suffren SSNs will benefit from reduced maintenance downtime, with major docking overhauls occurring only once every 10 years and an availability target of more than 270 days per year. This 10 year docking cycle is already in place for the Rubis class, which earlier in their service lives had major dockings scheduled every 7 to 8 years. These extended 18 month overhauls are known as "IPER" (periodic unavailability for maintenance and repairs). During a major overhaul, the nuclear reactor fuel elements are replaced and the submarines undergo their major modernizations and technical interventions. (...) The major difference compared to the Rubis class lies in the maintenance schedule between major overhauls: with the Suffren class, there are no longer any intermediate maintenance periods such as the overhaul experienced by the Améthyste from May to December 2024. These 5 to 6 month long "IE" periods occur every three and a half years (40 months), with an additional 5-week availability period every 4 months. With the Suffren class, these intermediate maintenance periods have been eliminated, and between two major overhauls (every 10 years) there will only be an annual maintenance availability of around 10 weeks
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