Sunday, June 14, 2020

France Successfully Lobs A Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Towards The U.S.

Okay, it was actually aimed toward the Caribbean but similar general direction and distance.
From Sputnik, June 12:
The French Ministry of Defense announced on Friday it had fired a ballistic missile across the Atlantic Ocean. The M51 submarine-launched missile (SLBM) was monitored by French and US forces, and the test was hailed as a “success” and “essential to French nuclear deterrence” and sovereignty.
On Friday, the French missile submarine Le Téméraire fired an M51 SLBM off the western coast of France toward the Caribbean Sea, the French Defense Ministry announced.
Le Téméraire is the second-oldest of France’s four Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines, launched in 1998. Each of the subs can carry 16 SLBMs. In turn, the M51 carries a payload of between six and 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) nuclear warheads, meaning each Triomphant boat could potentially deliver 160 separate nuclear strikes.
However, according to the Arms Control Association, a US-based non-governmental group, Paris has just 300 nuclear warheads available for use. The defense ministry noted no warhead was aboard Friday’s test missile.....
....MUCH MORE