France tested an upgraded version of its nuclear-capable strategic medium-range air-to-ground missile (ASMPA-R) after a flight representative of a nuclear raid. The French Ministry of Defense reported this in a statement.
Minister Sébastien Lecornu expressed “great satisfaction with the success of the first evaluation launch”, which took place yesterday. «The missile, developed by MBDA, was launched as part of the Durandal operation. This operation, representative of a strategic raid, was conducted over French territory”, explained the minister.
The raid, composed of A330 Phénix and Rafale B tankers from the Strategic Air Forces, faced the threat of opposition from air-to-air and surface-to-air assets of the French Air Force and the Ministry of Space.
The French nuclear missile test came after Russia began nuclear exercises with tactical weapons in the Southern Military District, not far from the border with Ukraine. Lecornu stressed that the French exercise aims to support “the credibility of the airborne nuclear deterrent element.”
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