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Table 3.8. French nuclear forces, 1986 ~ Weapon system Warheads en- "'tl No. Year Range Warhead No. in ;d Type deployed deployed (km)· x yield Type stockpile Aircraft tr1 Mirage IVAb 16 1964 1500 2 x 70 kt AN-22 32 > Mirage IVP< 9 1986 1500 1 x 150 kt ASMP 12 ;d al Jaguar A 45 1974d 750 1 x 6-8/30 kt e 50 0 Mirage IIIE 30 1972d 600 1 x 6-8/30 kt e 35 0 :;.: Refuelling aircraft -\0 C-135FIFR 11 1965 .. 00 0\ Land-based missiles S3 18 1980 3500 1 x 1 Mt TN-61 18 Pluton 42 1974 120 1 x 15-25 kt ANT-51 120 Submarine-based missiles M-20 80 1977 3000 1 x 1 Mt TN-61 80 M-4 16 1985 4000 6 x 150 kt TN-70 96 Carrier aircraft Super Etendard 36 1978 650 1 x 6-8/30 kt e 40 • Range for aircraft indicates combat radius, without refuelling. b The AN-51 warhead is also possibly a secondary bomb for tactical aircraft, and the AN-52 is also possibly a secondary bomb for the Mirage IVA. , A second squadron of 9 aircraft will be operational by the end of 1986, replacing an equal number of Mirage IVA variants (which have already been deducted from the above total of 16). It is assumed that the remaining 16 Mirage IVAs will no longer operate in a nuclear strike/attack mode. d The Mirage IIIE and Jaguar A aircraft were first deployed in 1964 and 1973, respectively, although they did not carry nuclear weapons until 1972 and 1974, respectively. e Warheads include ANT-51, ANT-52 and possibly a third type. Sources: Laird, R. F., 'French nuclear forces in the 1980s and the 19OOs',Comparative Strategy, vol. 4, no. 4 (1984), pp. 387-412; Langereux, P., 'Missiles tactiques et engins: cibles fran~ais en service, en developpement ou en etude', Air et Cosmos, 28 May 1983, p. 180; Defense Intelligence Agency, •A guide to foreign tactical nuclear weapon systems under the control of ground force commanders', DST-I040S-541-83-CHG 1 (secret, partially declassified), 17 Aug. 1984; International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 1983~4 (IISS: London, annual). - -
medium-range missile, the ASMP, and that of the Hades surface-to-surface missile, due to enter service in 1992. French scientists are also believed to be conducting final tests on a neutron bomb. lOB Army There has been much speculation about the neutron bomb in the past, as to whether it would ever be deployed, and if so in what form. France ordered feasibility studies on the neutron bomb in December 1976, and by June 1980 President Giscard d'Estaing was able to announce that it had tested such a weapon, although not specifying when or where. H19 It is commonly believed, however, that these tests were concerned with the evaluation of components of the neutron bomb, rather than a test of a complete prototype weapon. In 1983 President Mitterrand said that 'France holds itself ready to mass produce the neutron bomb', 'although the decision to do so has not yet been taken' .110 Also in 1983, Defence Minister Hernu went further and said that neutron weapons should be ready for the start of the Hades SSM (surface-to-air missile) programme in 1992 and that the military programme 'permits this decision, but does not anticipate it' .111 France was still testing and refining the procedure in 1985. Although a political decision has not yet been made concerning the production or deployment of the neutron bomb, it came a step closer in 1985. In September 1985 the French Army high command revealed for the first time that the primary characteristic of the Hades SSM, due to replace the Pluton in the 1990s, is 'its ability to satisfy the technical requirements attaching to the use of weapons having minor side-effects', 112 in other words, the neutron bomb. Air Force Despite an all-round spending squeeze, the French Air Force is maintaining its intensive re-equipment programme. The Airex-85 manoeuvres in March demonstrated this, as they were the biggest and longest war games since World War 1I.ll3 Qualification firings of the ASMP air-to-surface missile (ASM) from the Mirage IVP and Mirage 2000N aircraft began, and initial deliveries of production missiles were made in 1985. 114 First operational deployment of the ASMP will take place in May 1986 aboard the reworked Mirage IVP aircraft, with the second and last squadron entering service in late 1986. 115 By this time the number of aircraft will have reached a total of 18. As for the Mirage 2000N, production deliveries are scheduled to start in 1986, and 36 will be in service by 1988, when the Mirage 2000N will become operational as a replacement (or perhaps supplement) for Mirage IIIE and Jaguar nuclear attack aircraft. 116 After 1988 another 49 Mirage 2000Ns will be delivered. Modification of the first batch of Super Etendard aircraft to carry the ASMP started in 1984, and approximately 43 such aircraft will be updated before their 1988 ASMP operational deployment date, with another 10 following after 1988.
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Page 5 and 6: NUCLEAR WEAPONS 41 Congress than so
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Page 39 and 40: agreed to in the SALT negotiations-
Page 41 and 42: uildup foreseen' ,Defense Week, 17J
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