On 27 January 2010, Le Terrible launched an M51 SLBM from underwater in Audierne Bay.[9] The missile reached its target 2,000 kilometres (1,200mi) off North Carolina; the 4,500-kilometre (2,800mi) flight took about 20 minutes.[10]
The submarine was put into service on 20 September 2010 armed with 16 M51 missiles.[2]Terrible is fitted with a new SYCOBS combat system (SYstem de COmbat Barracuda-SSBN) which will also be installed on the new Barracuda class SSNs.[11][12]
In July 2017 French president Emmanuel Macron visited the submarine in the Atlantic and took part in a simulated missile launch.[13]
↑ Kristensen, Hans. "France"(PDF). Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Weapon Modernization Around the World. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States and Russia. In fact, 70% of nuclear warheads in the USA are carried by SSBN submarines.
The Force de dissuasion, known as the Force de frappe prior to 1961, is the French nuclear deterrence force. The Force de dissuasion used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based nuclear weapons intended for dissuasion, the French term for deterrence. Following the end of the Cold War, France decommissioned all its land-based nuclear missiles, thus the Force de dissuasion today only incorporates an air- and sea-based arsenal.
The M51 SLBM is a French submarine-launched ballistic missile, built by ArianeGroup, and deployed with the French Navy. Designed to replace the M45 SLBM, it was first deployed in 2010.
Le Redoutable was the lead boat of her class of ballistic missile submarines in the French Marine nationale.
The M1 MSBS was the first French submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The Suffren class is a class of nuclear attack submarines, designed by the French shipbuilder Naval Group for the French Navy. It is intended to replace the Rubis-class submarines. Construction began in 2007 and the first unit was commissioned on 6 November 2020. The lead boat of the class, Suffren, entered service on 3 June 2022.
The Rubis class is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines operated by the French Navy. It comprises six boats, the first entering service in 1983 and the last in 1993. Two additional units originally planned were cancelled as a result of post-Cold War budget cuts. All six submarines of the Rubis class are based at Toulon and are part of the Escadrille de sous-marins nucléaires d'attaque. Smaller than contemporary designs of other major world navies, the Rubis class shares many of its system designs with the conventionally-powered Agosta class. In the late 1980s, the Rubis class was proposed to Canada in the context of their plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
The Strategic Ocean Force has been the synonym of the French Submarine Forces since 1999, which the commandant commands the ensemble related to, along with the squadron of nuclear attack submarine.
A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers with nuclear bombs and missiles. Countries build nuclear triads to eliminate an enemy's ability to destroy a nation's nuclear forces in a first-strike attack, which preserves their own ability to launch a second strike and therefore increases their nuclear deterrence.
The Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of the French Navy is the active lead boat class of four boats that entered service in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2010. These four superseded the older Redoutable class, and they provide the ocean-based component of France's nuclear deterrent strike force, the Force de dissuasion. Their home port is Île Longue, Roadstead of Brest, Western Brittany.
Île Longue is a peninsula of the roadstead of Brest in the department of Finistère in the Brittany region. It is the base of the French nuclear ballistic missile submarines, and as such one of the most secretive and heavily defended places in France.
Le Triomphant is a strategic nuclear submarine of the French Navy; the submarine is the lead boat of her class commissioned in 1997 with the home port of Île Longue. The vessel carries sixteen strategic missiles, whose launch can only be authorized by the President of France.
Le Téméraire is a Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarine of the French Navy, launched in January 1998, and commissioned in December 1999, six months behind schedule. The boat had, in May 1999, successfully test launched an M45 submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Le Vigilant is a Triomphant-class strategic nuclear submarine in service with the French Navy.
The Submarine Forces of France are one of the four main components of the French Navy. The force oversees all French submarines regardless of role.
The Tête nucléaire océanique or TNO is a French thermonuclear warhead designed to equip the M51 ballistic missiles on the Triomphant-class submarines. It has been in service since 2016, replacing the TN 75 warhead, originally designed for the M45, and which also equipped the M51, pending the development and service entry of the TNO.
The M2 MSBS was the second French submarine-launched ballistic missile. In French, MSBS is the abbreviation for Mer-Sol Balistique Stratégique, or Sea-Ground Strategic Ballistic Missile. It has two stages. It was deployed on the Redoutable-class SNLEs or SSBNs from 1974 to 1978, replacing the M1 MSBS. The M2 was itself replaced by the M20 MSBS beginning in 1977.
Suffren (Q284/S635) is a French nuclear attack submarine. It is the lead ship of the Suffren class, stemming from the Barracuda program. The vessel, like several others before it, is named after Vice-Admiral Pierre André de Suffren.
The SNLE 3G is a class of submarines under development for the French Navy's nuclear deterrent, part of the Force de dissuasion. It is being designed as a replacement for the current Triomphant class beginning around 2035, and could remain in service to as late as 2090. Steel was cut on the first vessel in the class in March 2024.
Duguay-Trouin (S636) is a French nuclear attack submarine and the second boat of the Suffren class. The vessel was laid down on 26 June 2009 and launched on 9 September 2022 at Cherbourg. It was commissioned on 28 July 2023.
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