What was that other ship they were so proud of - the nuclear aircraft carrier? - the one that has to be towed everywhere? :o)
Is the Charles De Gaulle carrier the only thing folks have in mind when talking about French weapons???The fact is that France manufactures world class SSKs-the first sub kill after world war-2 was achieved by a French built Daphne class boat.
The CDG may have had plenty of problems,but it seems to be doing reasonably well of late.
I wouldn't discount these minisubs. The mere possession of a large number of these boats would be a major deterrent. When you get into a shooting war between a submarine and a ship, all that matters is that you have a torpedo in the water. It doesn't matter how you got it there (in an SSN, a typical diesel SS, or one of these miniboats).
For sort of a comparison with the Army, these boats are sort of like a tank cannon that infantry can carry. They deliver an enormous amount of firepower but only with a limited range and speed. But they are cheap so you can buy lots of them.