The Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of the French Navy is the active lead boat class of four boats that entered service in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2010. These four superseded the older Redoutable class, and they provide the ocean-based component (the Force océanique stratégique) of France's nuclear deterrent strike force, the Force de dissuasion ('deterrence force'). Their home port is Île Longue, Roadstead of Brest, Western Brittany.
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👉 Triomphant-class submarine in the context of Air-Sol Moyenne Portée
The Air-sol moyenne portée (ASMP; lit. 'Medium-Range Air-to-Surface') is a French nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile manufactured by MBDA France. In French nuclear doctrine, it serves what is referred to as a "pre-strategic" deterrence role. It is intended to be the ultimate "warning shot" prior to the full-scale employment of the strategic nuclear weapons arming the Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines. The missile's development was undertaken by Aérospatiale's missile systems division, whose assets are now part of MBDA.
The ASMP entered service in May 1986. The development of an upgraded version, the ASMP-A, was launched in 1997 and service entry occurred in 2009. In 2016, yet another modernization program, the ASMPA-R, was launched. The first firing test of the ASMPA-R took place in December 2021 and the second in March 2022.
In this Dossier
Triomphant-class submarine in the context of Ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect (see acoustic signature), thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. Many ballistic missile submarie policies also include provisions for nuclear first strike as well. For this reasons, 70% of nuclear warheads in the USA are carried by ballistic missile submarines.
The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States, Russia (following the collapse of the Soviet Union) and China. Smaller numbers are in service with France, the United Kingdom and India.