The Force de frappe, or Force de dissuasion after 1961, is the French nuclear deterrent 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. France has deactivated its land-based missiles and today the Force de dissuasion incorporates both an air and sea component.
The Le Redoutable-class submarine was a ballistic missile submarine class of the French Navy. In French, the type is called Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins (SNLE), literally "Missile-launching nuclear submarine". When commissioned, they constituted the strategic part of the naval component of the French nuclear triad, then called Force de frappe.
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.
The Barracuda class is a nuclear attack submarine, 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.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde, primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. It is the navy's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
The Rubis class is a series of nuclear-powered attack submarines operated by the French Navy. The class comprises six vessels, the first entering service in 1983 and the last in 1993, with another two being cancelled. 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 as an export to Canada in their plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Le Rubis, initially named Provence, was a first-generation nuclear attack submarine and lead boat of the Rubis class of the French Navy, assigned to the attack nuclear submarine squadron.
Perle is a first-generation nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy. The boat is the sixth and last of the Rubis series. Construction began on the submarine on 27 March 1987. The boat was launched on 22 September 1990 and entered active duty service on 7 July 1993.
French Navy modernization is pursued on the basis of successive Projet de loi de programmation militaire. These defence modernization plans are formulated on a rolling basis pursuant to strategic, political and budgetary factors and pressures. The latest LPM covers the period 2024 to 2030 and is organized around four strategic priorities: strengthening deterrence, preparation for high intensity operations, protecting interests in all French territories and key domains and strengthening international partnerships.
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.
HMSVigilant is the third Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy. Vigilant carries the Trident ballistic missile, the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent.
A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles. Specifically, these components are land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers. The purpose of having this three-branched nuclear capability is to significantly reduce the possibility that an enemy could destroy all of a nation's nuclear forces in a first-strike attack. This, in turn, ensures a credible threat of a second strike, and thus increases a nation's 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.
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 Terrible is a Triomphant-class strategic nuclear submarine of the French Navy. The boat was launched on 21 March 2008
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 Columbia-class submarine is an upcoming class of nuclear submarines designed to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines in the United States Navy. The first submarine began construction on 1 October 2020, and is scheduled to enter service in 2031.
Tête nucléaire océanique is a French thermonuclear warhead intended for use on the M51.2 submarine-launched ballistic missile, that is being developed and built by the Division of Military Applications (DAM) at France's Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives. It will be carried on Triomphant-class submarines. The TNO is intended to replace the currently deployed TN 75 warhead. Its commissioning was planned for 2015, when France's newest submarines, either Le Terrible or Le Vigilant, will be one of the first to carry the warhead.
In 2006, MBDA France began the development of a longer-range naval vertical-launched cruise missile to be deployed on a new series of French warships in the 2010s and complement the SCALP/Storm Shadow. Called Missile de Croisière Naval (MdCN), it became operational on the six ASW/land-attack variants of the French FREMM multipurpose frigates in 2017 and on Barracuda-class submarines in June 2022, using the A70 version of the Sylver launcher on the former and the 533 mm torpedo tubes on the latter. As it is not launched from a plane like the SCALP, the MdCN uses a booster during its launch phase to break out of the ship and gain some initial velocity.
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