France Tests Nuclear Missile
Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at using nuclear weapons to defend the Kaliningrad enclave, French President Emmanuel Macron oversaw the first test launch of a submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile off the country’s western coast, the Élysée Palace and the Ministry of Armed Forces announced.
The presidency stated that Macron observed the launch from a frigate of the French Navy. The Ministry of Armed Forces said in a statement that the missile, the third version of the M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile, was “devoid of its nuclear warhead.”
It added that the missile fell off the coast of Brittany in the North Atlantic, hundreds of kilometers from any landmass, as part of the “Sémiramis” operation to verify the capability of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Vigilant to deploy the weapon following comprehensive maintenance.
France commissioned this new version of intercontinental ballistic missiles, deployed on submarines tasked with nuclear deterrence, earlier this year. The step was then described as a “major milestone in the modernization of the sea-based component of French nuclear deterrence.”
In a video posted on the X platform showing him watching the launch, Macron said, “We are stronger today. The message has been sent loudly and clearly to all who need to hear it.”
In March, Macron announced that France would expand its nuclear arsenal and launched an initiative offering European partners joint exercises, the possibility of deploying assets capable of carrying nuclear weapons on allied territories in the short term, and deeper consultations.
Although the announcement did not mention Russia, the test comes after Putin warned the West last week of escalating the confrontation over Ukraine by threatening the Russian Kaliningrad region, located between Poland and Lithuania, both EU members, which Moscow has stated it would defend with nuclear weapons if necessary.
The test takes place amid rising tensions in Europe, where Macron has warned of a shift in the nature of “Russian aggression and threats” directed against European countries, following a series of hybrid attacks attributed to Moscow. He pledged in mid-September that these attacks “will not go unanswered.”
