The French Navy (Marine Nationale) and their four Le Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are the most expensive subs on the planet today. What they could do in a war explains why.
France’s nuclear stockpile of approximately 290 warheads has remained stable in recent years, but significant modernizations are underway regarding ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, submarines, aircraft, and the nuclear industrial complex.
For the first time, France tested its home-grown hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), a type of warhead for ballistic missiles that can manoeuvre freely and glide at hypersonic speed.
V-Max, the French glider, was launched on Monday from a sounding rocket which allows precise measurements from the Biscarosse missile test site on the Bay of Biscay, southwestern France, the country’s defence procurement agency, the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), said.
VMaX stands for Véhicule Manoeuvrant Expérimental or experimental manoeuvring vehicle.