Being the lead ship of the class, fine-tuning was long, notably needing over 1,000 hours of underwater testing before commissioning.

Between September 1992 and July 1993, Rubis undertook a major refitting which upgraded her to the level of the Améthyste.

The Rubis also took part in Operation Trident, the 1999 bombing campaign over Yugoslavia, by protecting the aeronaval group.

Along with the Améthyste, the boat was one of the two submarines who interdicted the Kotor straits to the Serbian Navy, thus effectively forbidding its use.

In 2002, the Rubis protected Task Force 473 in the Indian Ocean, during Operation Hercules, the naval part of the invasion of Afghanistan.