France was the fourth country to join the so-called “Nuclear Club,” and at the height of the Cold War maintained its own nuclear triad of land-based missiles, nuclear-armed bombers and ballistic missile submarines. Today, France’s sea-based nuclear deterrent is the home of most of its nuclear arsenal, with four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, of French design and construction, providing constant assurance against surprise nuclear attack.
France’s nuclear weapons arsenal began in earnest on February 13, 1960, with the country’s first nuclear weapons test. The test, code-named “
Bleue” (Blue Desert Rat) confirmed that France had the know-how to build its own weapons. It also confirmed that France had the nuclear know-how to part ways with the United States and NATO and chart its own course versus the Soviet Union.
Newest Triomphant-class SSBN undergoes 30-month overhaul.
The
Le Terrible has arrived in the naval base at Brest for a major refit.
‘This will be the first FCD [full cycle docking] for
Le Terrible and will involve 14 months of industrial activities to modernise the ship and restore its operational potential for the coming 10 years,’ the French MoD and prime contractor Naval Group announced on 8 January.
Work on the FCD is divided between Brest and the L’Île Longue strategic submarine base.
The extensive project involves 2.5 million hours of work over a 30-month period, with Naval Group overseeing the activities of 45 organisations.