The French Naval Group is the largest state-owned military ship development and construction enterprise in France, formerly known as the French Ship Building Agency (DCN), which was established in 1991. In April 2007, it was renamed the French Shipbuilding Group (DCNS). In June 2017, DCNS CEO Elve Guiu announced that in order to create a more influential brand and a louder name in the global defense field, DCNS officially changed its name to the French Naval Group. The main products developed and produced by it are large and medium-sized surface ships such as the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle", the "Northwest Wind" class amphibious assault ship, the "Laurel Tree" class, the "Scorpius" class and the "Triumph" class strategic nuclear submarine. Among them, the "Scorpano" class conventional submarines can operate both offshore and offshore operations, due to their high cost performance, they have been favored by the international market and have been successfully sold to Chile, Malaysia, India and Brazil. In addition, in April 2016, the French Naval Group's "Shortfin Barracuda" class conventional submarine program won the bid for Australia's future submarine project, which laid the international status of the French Naval Group's conventional submarine design capabilities. Not only that, since 2002, the French Navy Group has proposed a SMX series of conventional submarine design concepts every two years, and so far, it has launched an innovative concept of the Type 9 SMX series submarines at the European Naval Defense Exhibition, leading the development direction of conventional submarines in the future. Next, we will introduce the design concept of the SMX series of conventional submarines launched by the French Naval Group at the previous European Naval Defense Exhibitions.
<h1>SMX-21 catamaran</h1>
In terms of appearance, the SMX-21 submarine is a flat catamaran submarine, which is easily reminiscent of the "Typhoon" class strategic nuclear submarine developed by the Soviet Union. Its hull is composed of two pressure-resistant shells of the same size side by side, subverting the teardrop-type structure of traditional submarines. In terms of armament, the SMX-21 submarine mainly fires light/heavy torpedoes in a conventional manner, the weapon slot under the hull can accommodate 9 mines, and there are 2 mission modules in the non-pressure-resistant area between the two pressure-resistant shells, which can be replaced according to different missions, and each mission module can be loaded with 10 different weapons.
The SMX-21 submarine is the first type of SMX series submarines, which has attracted widespread attention from the navies and submarine design departments of various countries after its debut
<h1>SMX-22 sub-submarine</h1>
The biggest highlight of the SMX-22 sub-submarine is that 1 submarine can be turned into 3 at any time, and the mother boat and the sub-boat can perform different tasks. When carrying out combat tasks, after the sub-mother-daughter boat sails to the combat area as a combat unit, the sub-boat can perform combat activities independently from the mother boat, and the mother boat stays in the relatively safe sea area in the rear. After 1 to 2 days, the sub-boat can return to the mother boat after the mission, and the mother boat plays the role of an underwater aircraft carrier.
One of the key technologies in the SMX-22 submarine design scheme is the docking and disengagement technology of the daughter-daughter boat
<h1>SMX-23 low-cost submarine</h1>
This type of submarine is based on the "Scorpano" class conventional submarine design, reduced the size of the "Sturgeon" class conventional submarines, changed the speed, diving depth performance indicators and adjusted the weapon load, and designed a small conventional submarine with small size, advanced performance and low cost, suitable for shallow sea activities in small and medium-sized countries. The SMX-23 submarine is 48.8 meters long, has a surface displacement of 855 tons, a maximum surface speed of 8 knots, a surface endurance of 1,850 nautical miles at 8 knots, an underwater speed of more than 15 knots, a maximum diving depth of 200 meters, a sea self-sustainment of 15 days, and a crew of 19 people.
The SMX-23 submarine is a solution proposed by DNC after analyzing the cost-effectiveness ratio of medium-sized conventional submarines and the economic strength and combat needs of small and medium-sized navies
<h1>SMX-24 modular submarine</h1>
The biggest highlight of the SMX-24 submarine is the modular design, which can carry more weapons, sensors and special operators and their equipment, and the machine is more powerful. The submarine is 88.8 meters long, 26 meters wide, has a water displacement of 3 450 tons, a maximum diving depth of 350 meters, a maximum underwater speed of more than 20 knots, and an underwater self-sustaining force of 30 days. Its shape is designed to be between stealthy surface ships and submarines, taking into account the needs of surface and underwater navigation. Its overall appearance is distinctly different from that of a conventional submarine, more like an underwater jet fighter.
The SMX-24 submarine integrates a "plug-and-play combat" module, which can be refitted as mission requirements change
<h1>SMX-26 shallow sea landing submarine</h1>
This type of submarine is designed for the difficulty of performing shallow water and offshore environment tasks for traditional submarines, and can sail in shallow waters above 15 meters underwater. This type of submarine belongs to the category of small submarines, with a total length of 40 meters, a width of 15 meters and an underwater displacement of 1,000 tons.
When the SMX-26 submarine carries weapons and equipment to the target at high speed, it can remain on the seabed for a long time to continuously observe the surrounding environment
<h1>SMX - "Ocean" conventionally powered attack submarine</h1>
Based on the French Navy's new Barracuda-class attack submarines, the submarine excels in terms of endurance, situational awareness and off-board unmanned systems.
The SMX "Ocean" submarine in the picture uses a saddle container to automatically launch an unmanned submersible vehicle
<h1>SMX-3.0 digital submarine</h1>
The SMX-3.0 submarine integrates the latest digital technology from DCNS to greatly improve the efficiency of submarine operations. In addition, the SMX-3.0 submarine has a very good power system. It has the characteristics of easy control, high endurance, strong combat ability, system upgradeability, and convenient maintenance.
The technical features of the SMX-3.0 submarine include an advanced power management system, outstanding combat performance and system upgradeability and ease of maintenance
<h1>SMX-31 futuristic submarine</h1>
In terms of overall design, the SMX-31 uses a lot of automation technology and artificial intelligence technology, and the number of crew members has also been reduced to 15 people. The flat hull, similar to that of a sperm whale, significantly reduces sailing resistance and noise, and the hull surface is covered with a special coating similar to scales for excellent stealth performance.
SMX-31 submarine future combat command compartment layout
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