France tests upgraded nuclear missile against backdrop of Russia tensions
The unarmed firing validated Le Vigilant’s strategic weapons system after a three-year overhaul and marked the first submarine launch of the M51.3, officials said.
- On Tuesday, France test-fired its new M51.3 nuclear-capable ballistic missile from the submarine Vigilant off Brittany, with President Emmanuel Macron witnessing the launch from a warship.
- Amid rising European tensions, Macron warned of shifting "Russian aggression and threats" following a series of "hybrid" attacks that officials blamed on Moscow.
- The unarmed missile impacted "in the North Atlantic, hundreds of kilometres from any coastline," the Defence Ministry reported, noting the test complied with international commitments.
- Officials added that the test "once again demonstrates the excellence of the high-tech solutions employed by French industry in the field of nuclear deterrence."
- Macron proposed this year that European partners join the "advanced" nuclear deterrence framework of France, the European Union's sole nuclear weapons power, vowing actions would "not go unanswered.
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The event, which was not on the agenda of the Head of State, is intended to send several messages.
French President Emmanuel Macron attended on Tuesday morning a "first round of testing of an intercontinental missile, which was launched from a ballistic missile submarine across the Department of Finistere," AFP reports.
France tested the new version of its M51.3 strategic missile under sea launch conditions. On October 6, it was launched for the first time from a nuclear submarine. There was no nuclear charge on board: the test was supposed to confirm the stable operation of the complex itself, which forms the basis of the French naval unit
France tests upgraded nuclear missile against backdrop of Russia tensions
France's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had conducted the first test launch of its latest-generation M51.3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, underscoring its nuclear deterrent amid heightened tensions with Russia.
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