Nuclear sub missile explodes
Test-firing of €120million M51 rocket fails spectacularly as it self-destructs off the coast of Finistère
A NUCLEAR ballistic missile self-destructed just off the Finistère coast yesterday after a test-firing from the submarine Le Vigilant. It did not have a nuclear warhead fitted.
The €120 million M51 missile malfunctioned seconds after launch in the first part of the ascent and an inquiry has been started to find the cause. The missile was supposed to have a 30-year lifespan.
It had been fired from the test range in Baie d'Audierne and exploded in mid-air before crashing 25km offshore in an exclusion zone that is banned to shipping. It had been intended to land in mid-Atlantic, the Defence Ministry said.
One resident of Guilvinec on the Finistère coast told France 3 that he had seen the spectacular explosion then “white smoke and large amounts of debris falling to sea. I thought it was an aircraft that had crashed into the ocean”.
Navy vessels will recover the debris, which is thought to be in waters 100m deep. The missile was built by French company Astrium, part of EADS.
Vigilant is one of just two nuclear submarines armed with the M51 at the moment. It is intended to fit it to all four subs in France’s Oceanic independent nuclear deterrent force. Each sub will carry 16 M51s. They are based at the Ile Longue, off Brest.
See a previous test firing of an M51 from the submarine Le Terrible: www.gouvernement.fr
