Naval Group received the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly and the French Chief of Navy, Amiral Pierre VANDIER, at its Cherbourg site. They toured the shipyard where the nuclear attack submarine (SSN) Perle is currently being repaired.
The repair and transformation works on the SSN Perle is a totally new challenge. Five months after the beginning of the work, the undamaged back of the Perle will be assembled with the bow of the Saphir. The latter was withdrawn from service in July 2019.
“Naval Group and its partners are fully committed to enable to allow the French Navy to recover as quickly as possible the potential of its six SSN. The success of the repair works on the Perle owes a lot to the know-how and professionalism of the teams.” Pierre Éric Pommellet
The hybridisation of 2 submarines is both an innovative and controlled operation:
⚓ cutting of the two submarines
⚓ movement and alignment of halves of the submarines
⚓ welding of the thick hull
⚓ splicing of hundreds of cables and manifolds
Once refurbished, the SSN Perle will be stationed at the Toulon naval base. Naval Group will start afresh at the end of 2021 the Periodic Interruption for Maintenance and Repair (PIMR) and finally the upgrade of the submarine.
