M51 (missile)
| M51 SLBM | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | SLBM |
| Service history | |
| In service | 27 September 2010 |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | EADS Astrium Space Transportation |
| Unit cost | 4 billion euro for the programme |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 52,000 kg |
| Length | 12.0 m |
| Diameter | 2.3 m |
| Warhead | M51.1 = 6 to 10 TN 75 MIRV 107 kiloton (kt) (420 TJ), with penetration aids. M51.2 (2015) = using the new Tête nucléaire océanique 150 kt / CEP 150-200 m |
|
|
|
| Engine | three stage Solid-fuel rocket (Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant) |
|
Operational
range |
8,000-10,000 km |
| Speed | Mach 25 |
|
Guidance
system |
Astro-inertial guidance. Galileo (satellite navigation) system is planned. |
|
Launch
platform |
Triomphant class submarines |
The M51 SLBM is a submarine-launched ballistic missile, built by Airbus Defence & Space, and deployed with the French Navy. Designed to replace the M45 SLBM (In French terminology the MSBS - Mer-Sol-Balistique-Stratégique “Sea-ground-Strategic ballistic”), it was first deployed in 2010.
Each missile carries six to ten independently targetable TN 75 thermonuclear warheads.
The three-stage engine of the M51 is directly derived from the solid propellant boosters of Ariane 5. Like other blunt-nosed SLBM, such as the Trident D5, the M51 uses an extensible aerospike in the nose.
The missiles are a compromise over the M5 SLBM design, which was to have a range of 11,000 km (6,800 mi) and carry 10 new generation Tête nucléaire océanique' (“Oceanic nuclear warhead”) MIRVs. Design work on the M5 started in 1992, before the programme was renamed the M51 in 1996, when development costs decreased by 20 percent. The M51 entered service in 2010.
After having spent €5 billion ($6.7 billion) developing the missile, the French government placed a €3 billion ($3.9 billion) order with EADS SPACE Transportation for the M51 in December 2004. The contract covered serial production of the M51 for 10 years, with the company to be responsible for sustained readiness support throughout the missile's life.
The M51 performed its first flight test (unarmed) on 9 November 2006 from the French missile flight test centre in Biscarrosse (Landes). The target was reached twenty minutes later, in the north-west of the Atlantic Ocean.
A second and third successful test were carried out on 21 June 2007 and 13 November 2008.
On 27 January 2010, at 9h25, a missile was launched underwater by Le Terrible, from Audierne Bay. The missile reached its target 2,000 kilometres off South Carolina; the 4,500 kilometre flight took less than 20 minutes.
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Wikipedia