France successfully test fires long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile

Europe, News November 22, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

France successfully test-fired an M51.3 long-range ballistic missile. The missile test was conducted by France’s General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) at its at its Biscarrosse missile test facility located in Southwestern France.

According to a statement released by the French Ministry of Armed Forces, the test was conducted to “validate an important evolution of the missile which will contribute to perpetuating the credibility of our oceanic deterrence over the coming decades”.

France’s M51s are submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), however, during the test, the missile was launched from a land-based test facility on November 18, 2023. This was the first-ever launch of the M51.3 SLBM.

The statement said “The missile was monitored throughout its flight phase by the DGA’s test resources. The fallout zone is located in the North Atlantic, several hundred kilometers from any coast. This test was carried out without a nuclear charge and in strict compliance with France’s international commitments. This shot, carried out as part of the M51 program, once again demonstrates the excellence of the high technology that French industries are implementing in this area.”

The M51.3 missile is an upgraded version of the M51, a three-stage sea-land strategic ballistic missile designed to be launched from French Navy submarines. The M51 was first test-fired from a ground base in 2006 and from a submarine in 2010, the year it was commissioned.

^{France successfully test-fired an M51.3 long-range ballistic missile on November 18, 2023, boosting the credibility of France’s nuclear deterrence capabilities. (Image Credit: French Defense Ministry)}

M51.3 missile is expected to enter the services by 2025. It has been developed by the French aerospace firm ArianeGroup, which is a joint venture between Airbus and Safran Defense.

M51 Missile

The M51 is the new generation intercontinental SLBM which started replacing the M45 in 2010. Standing 12 meters tall with a diameter of 2.3 meters, a typical M51 missile has a mass of 52,000 kilograms.

According to some estimates, the French government has spent more than $6 billion on the development of the M51 missile series. The missile can achieve Mach 25 speed and is guided by an Astro-inertial guidance system.

French Ministry of the Armed Forces has kept the actual range of the missile classified. According to some previous records, it is safe to assume that M51.3 would have a basic range beyond 6,000 kilometers. Experts believe that the missile’s operational range could be between 8000 to 10,000 kilometers.

Nuclear Deterrence

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and President Vladimir Putin’s warnings about using nuclear weapons to defend Russia, France has sped up its ballistic missile development and testing to boost its nuclear deterrence capabilities.

Earlier in April 2023, France conducted a successful test for M51 SLBM. The missile was fired from the French Navy’s Le Terrible nuclear-powered submarine. It was the sixth missile test from Le Terrible submarine.