France carries out rare simulation of a ‘nuclear deterrent strike’ as US quits missile pact with Russia
- Paris tested its nuclear capability in an 11-hour mission using Rafale warplanes
- The simulation included the firing of a real missile without its nuclear warhead
- France maintains a 300-strong nuclear stockpile at a cost of €3.5billion a year
France has carried out a rare simulation of a nuclear deterrent strike, amid fears of an arms race after Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of a missile pact with Russia.
The French military tested its nuclear capability in an 11-hour mission, using a Rafale warplane and firing a real missile without its nuclear warhead.
France spends some $3.5billion (£3.1bn) per year on maintaining its 300-strong nuclear weapons stockpile, launched from planes and submarines.
It comes amid growing global tension after Washington tore up a 1987 arms deal with Moscow, with both sides now planning to develop new missiles which were prohibited under the pact.
France has carried out a rare simulation of a nuclear deterrent strike, using Rafale warplanes (file photo) in an 11-hour mission amid growing global tension
‘These real strikes are scheduled in the life of the weapons’ system,’ French air force spokesman Colonel Cyrille Duvivier said.
‘They are carried out at fairly regular intervals, but remain rare because the real missile, without its warhead, is fired.’
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Paris did not reveal when the test was carried out, and officials declined to say how often they take place.
It put an end to nuclear weapons testing in 1996 after a test in the South Pacific sparked outrage, and has since signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
French defence chiefs plan to modernise their nuclear capacity at a cost of €5billion (£4.4bn) a year by 2020.
Stumbling block: The Russian Novatar 9M729 ground-based cruise missile system is accused by the U.S. of breaching the 1987 arms treaty, which Russia denies
The mission comes with Europe increasingly worried about security as tensions rise between Washington and Moscow.
The United States announced on Friday it was withdrawing from the 1987 pact banning ground-launched missiles in Europe, accusing Moscow of violations.
The 32-year-old treaty required parties to destroy ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 km (310 to 3,420 miles).
Paris urged Russia on Friday to use the six-month period triggered by the United States’ decision to comply with its obligations under the accord.
‘We Europeans cannot remain spectators of our own security,’ French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Tuesday at a conference in Portugal.
France is also concerned over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities.
Paris made strenuous attempts to stop Donald Trump abandoning the 2015 weapons deal with Iran but Emmanuel Macron’s lobbying was unsuccessful.
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