Earlier this week, we told you the story of the U.S. Navy’s Seawolf-class submarines. Only three of those subs were built, thanks to the end of the Cold War and the boats’ exorbitant cost. While the Seawolf is indeed the most expensive submarine in American naval history, it is surprisingly not the most expensive submarine in the world. That distinction instead belongs to the French Navy (Marine Nationale) and their four Le Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

From L’Arc de Triomphe to Les Sous-marins de Triomphant

France’s claim over the world’s most expensive submarine may come as a surprise to some, in light of former POTUS Donald Trump’s criticism of the dearth of defense expenditures on the part of the European NATO members. As of 2020, France spent the equivalent of $52,47 billion on defense, which equates to a 2.07% share of GDP. Evidently, however, the French government doesn’t mind spending more on submarines.

Just how expensive are the Triomphant-class boats, or the SNLE-NG (Sous-Marins Nucleaires Lanceurs Engins-Nouvelle Generation/Next Generation Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine)? The Federation of American Scientists provides these mind-boggling numbers:

“Constructing the fourth SNLE cost 13 billion francs, and avoided a drawdown in deployments. Of the submarines currently in the strategic submarine force (FOST), four are always operational and two are at sea. With four SNLEs, three could be operational at any given time. The SNLE-NG program is estimated to cost 88.4 billion francs for four submarines. The average cost per submarine has increased from 10 billion francs in 1986 to 12.5 billion.”