French President Macron launches new nuclear-powered attack submarine

French President Emmanuel Macron launched a new nuclear-powered attack submarine, called 'Suffren', on July 12. The dry-dock ceremony took place in Cherbourg. Suffren is a Barracuda attack-class submarine, the first of its kind. France plans to replace the Rubis-class submarines, in service since 1980s, with the Barracuda-class vessels, as per reports. The submarine will be officially delivered to the French navy by summer 2020 after sea trials. It has been built by French ship-builder Naval Group. Australia has already ordered 12 such vessels.