S2 | |
---|---|
Type | MRBM |
Place of origin | France |
Service history | |
In service | 1971-1984 |
Used by | French Air Force |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Aérospatiale |
Specifications | |
Mass | 31,900 kg (70,300 lb) |
Length | 14.8 m (49 ft) |
Diameter | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
Warhead | 1 × MR 31 nuclear warhead, 120 kilotonnes |
Engine | Two-stage
Solid-fuel rocket 534 kN (120,000 lbf) |
Operational range | 3,000 km (1,900 mi) |
Guidance system | Inertial |
Launch platform | Silo, Plateau d'Albion |
The S2 was the first deployed French land-based strategic missile, equipped with a single nuclear warhead of 120 kilotonnes. In French it is called a Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique, (SSBS or " ground-ground strategic ballistic missile"). The S2 was a two-stage, solid-propellant medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). [1]
Deployed in 1971, the main land-based component of the French nuclear deterrent ( force de dissuasion) was the S2 missile, rounding out their strategic nuclear triad along with air and submarine assets. Two groups totalling 18 S2 missile silos were deployed at Apt-Saint-Christol airbase, on the Plateau d'Albion in the Vaucluse region.
The S2 was replaced by the S3 SSBS in the early 1980s.
S2 | |
---|---|
Type | MRBM |
Place of origin | France |
Service history | |
In service | 1971-1984 |
Used by | French Air Force |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Aérospatiale |
Specifications | |
Mass | 31,900 kg (70,300 lb) |
Length | 14.8 m (49 ft) |
Diameter | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
Warhead | 1 × MR 31 nuclear warhead, 120 kilotonnes |
Engine | Two-stage
Solid-fuel rocket 534 kN (120,000 lbf) |
Operational range | 3,000 km (1,900 mi) |
Guidance system | Inertial |
Launch platform | Silo, Plateau d'Albion |
The S2 was the first deployed French land-based strategic missile, equipped with a single nuclear warhead of 120 kilotonnes. In French it is called a Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique, (SSBS or " ground-ground strategic ballistic missile"). The S2 was a two-stage, solid-propellant medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). [1]
Deployed in 1971, the main land-based component of the French nuclear deterrent ( force de dissuasion) was the S2 missile, rounding out their strategic nuclear triad along with air and submarine assets. Two groups totalling 18 S2 missile silos were deployed at Apt-Saint-Christol airbase, on the Plateau d'Albion in the Vaucluse region.
The S2 was replaced by the S3 SSBS in the early 1980s.