France has successfully carried out the first-ever submarine-based test launch of its upgraded M51.3 strategic ballistic missile, deployed from the nuclear-powered submarine Le Vigilant.
The 6 October launch was conducted off the coast of Finistère by the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency (DGA) and the French Navy, with ArianeGroup and Naval Group supporting the operation.
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The missile carried no nuclear warhead, both the French authorities and ArianeGroup confirmed.
The test, the variant’s first firing at sea since entering service in October last year, was intended to validate Le Vigilant and its crew’s ability to launch the M51 missile under operational conditions following several months of maintenance, France’s Armed Force Minister Catherine Vautrin said in a social media post.
Vautrin said: “Planned for a long time, this successful operation embodies the desire of the President of the Republic to perpetuate the operational and technical credibility of the nuclear forces by renewing the capabilities of its components according to the framework provided for by the LPM 2024-2030.”
While French authorities described the launch as a routine validation test, it followed President Vladimir Putin’s warning the previous week against escalating tensions over Ukraine, including through threats to Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave between Poland and Lithuania, which he said Moscow would defend with nuclear weapons if necessary.
In a social media post, Emmanuel Macron said the test further demonstrated the credibility and continuing viability of France’s nuclear deterrent.
“To be free, one must be feared. And to be feared, you have to be powerful,” Macron said.
The latest launch was the second for the M51.3 variant, following its qualification firing from the DGA’s Biscarrosse missile test range in south-west France in November 2023.
The M51.3 is the latest version of the M51 missile, which entered service in 2010 and is the fifth generation of French ballistic missiles.
Earlier M51.1 and M51.2 versions remain in service, while the M51.3 is due to replace them progressively.
ArianeGroup, the industrial prime contractor for the M51 programme, said the firing was extensively instrumented and included experiments intended to inform development of the future M51.4 variant.
Work on that version began in September 2025, it stated.
ArianeGroup chief executive Christophe Bruneau said: “The firing of M51 strategic missiles from ballistic missile submarines represents a major milestone in the operational life of the system, for which ArianeGroup is the prime contractor.
“This launch marks a decisive step for the programme and underlines the operational excellence of ArianeGroup and its partners: it is the first missile of the third version, the M51.3, to be launched at sea since it entered service in October 2025.”
ArianeGroup is responsible for the M51 programme on behalf of the DGA, covering design, production, maintenance, in-service support and eventual dismantling.
Naval Group built the Le Vigilant, one of France’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
Paris does not disclose the M51.3’s range, but Reuters, citing publicly available estimates, puts the M51 family’s range at about 9,000km or more. French officials have said the latest version has a greater range than preceding models.
The test comes as France is planning a broader rise in defence expenditure under the revised 2024-2030 military programming law. The plan would bring annual defence spending to €76.3bn by 2030 and raise expenditure to 2.5% of gross domestic product, from about 2% currently.
President Macron said in March that France would expand its nuclear arsenal and proposed closer nuclear deterrence consultation and joint exercises with European partners.
Reuters reported that France spends about €5.6bn annually on maintaining a stockpile estimated at 290 nuclear weapons, making it the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal.
