As the only two nuclear armed countries in Western Europe and important members of NATO, Britain and France have always focused on strengthening their underwater assault capabilities - the construction of attack type nuclear submarines. In early July, the British Navy's 15 year old "Astute" attack nuclear submarine arrived at the Devonport Naval Base for mid-term maintenance and upgrades. To accelerate the replacement of the Agile class attack submarines, the country also plans to build 12 new generation Okus class attack submarines. Not long ago, the French Navy's third Barracuda class attack nuclear submarine, the "Tourville," also officially entered service. The continuous strengthening of underwater assault force construction by Britain and France has attracted attention from all walks of life. At present, the British Navy has 5 Astute class attack submarines in service, and 2 more are still under construction. This class of nuclear submarine was built by BAE Systems in the UK, using the domestically designed PWR-2 pressurized water reactor. It has a speed of 29 knots and an underwater displacement of 7400 tons. It is equipped with six 533mm caliber torpedo launch tubes and can launch domestically produced heavy torpedoes such as the "Sailfish" and American made "Tomahawk" cruise missiles. According to reports, the yet to be commissioned 6th and 7th boats are expected to incorporate the latest technology to enhance their combat capabilities. According to the new version of the UK Strategic Defense Review report, the UK will build 12 new generation of Aukus class attack submarines in the future, replacing the Astute class attack submarines starting from the late 1930s, to ensure the continuity of the UK's "sustained maritime nuclear deterrence" capability. The overall layout of the new generation of attack nuclear submarines has not been disclosed yet. There are speculations from foreign media that it may adopt a scheme related to agile class attack nuclear submarines, using a single unit layout with a larger displacement of nearly 10000 tons. Rolls Royce, a British company, is developing the next generation of nuclear power units for a new nuclear submarine. The French Navy plans to replace the aging Ruby class attack submarines with six Barracuda class nuclear submarines. In recent years, the French Navy has accelerated the construction and commissioning of this class of nuclear submarines. Since 2020, three submarines have been put into service successively: the first one, the "Souflon", was commissioned in November 2020, the second one, the "Digue Truan", was commissioned in July 2023, and the third one, the "Tourville", was commissioned in July this year. The other three are planned to enter service before 2030, at which time the French underwater assault force will be further strengthened. The Barracuda class attack nuclear submarine has the characteristics of low acoustic signal and strong underwater detection capability. It adopts the K15 nuclear reactor, has a speed of 25 knots, a depth of over 300 meters, and an underwater displacement of 5300 tons. It is equipped with F21 heavy torpedoes, SM39 submarine launched missiles, and MDCN cruise missiles, and can perform tasks such as anti submarine, anti-ship, land longitudinal deep strike, and special forces delivery. It will be in service until the 1960s. (New Society)