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Launch of fourth French nuclear submarine |
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Tuesday, 13 May 2008 |
President Nicolas Sarkozy
was in Cherbourg at the
end of March to inaugurate
the fourth and final nextgeneration
nuclear
submarine (SNLE-NG).
Although fourth in line, it is
the first of its kind to be
equipped with the new
ballistic M-51 missile. The
head of state took the
opportunity to ask for
measures governing the use
of nuclear technology for
weapons of dissuasion, selfappointing
himself in the
process as the spokesperson
for the international cause in
favour of disarmament.
In the meantime, ‘Le
Terrible’, as this latest vessel
is called, is set to replace
‘L’Inflexible’. It is planned
that ‘Le Terrible’' will be in
active service by 2010 with
the capacity for a crew of 111
and an average speed of 25
knots when submerged. At
138 metres long and 12.5
metres wide, ‘Le Terrible’
will complete the set of four
that make up the nuclear
dissuasion force: ‘Le
Triomphant’ (operational
since 1997), ‘Le Téméraire’
(since 1999) and ‘Le
Vigilant’ (since 2004).
Martial Leroux
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