France tests ballistic Nuke missile

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*
Perilous Times

France tests ballistic Nuke missile*

From correspondents in Paris

November 10, 2006 12:45am
Article from: Agence France-Presse

FRANCE successfully carried out a first test on its new M-51 ballistic
missile which is to carry submarine-based nuclear weapons, the defence
ministry said.

The unarmed missile was fired over the Bay of Biscay from a launch test
centre on France's southern Atlantic coast.

The M51, with a range of some 8000km, is to replace France's existing
submarine-based missiles by 2010.

“This test flight was carried out in conformity with all France's
international commitments concerning safety, transparency and
non-proliferation,” a ministry statement said.

Manufactured by the European consortium EADS, the M-51 is 12m long and
weighs around 50 tonnes.

It will carry six nuclear warheads.