France boosts nuclear budget: A costly force for deterrence
Why do so few countries possess nuclear weapons? This is not only due to the technical challenges and political consequences of entering the "nuclear club" but also because of the costs of maintaining a nuclear arsenal. The scale of expenditure is revealed by France's defence budget, which includes approximately 300 nuclear warheads.
In 2024, 14 per cent of the French defence budget was allocated to "nuclear deterrence." Since France's defence expenditure this year is €47.2 (£39.3) billion, this means that Paris allocated €6.6 (£5.5) billion to nuclear weapons.
This is an increase compared to previous years when France's nuclear arsenal consumed about 12 per cent of defence expenditures. The scale of spending is emphasised by the fact that €6.6 (£5.5) billion are the costs borne annually by a country that has already developed nuclear weapons and has had the scientific and technical resources for their development and production for years.
Furthermore, the French nuclear arsenal is fairly limited in terms of the number of warheads and means of delivery, which do not form a complete nuclear triad. This term includes sea, air, and land-based nuclear delivery systems. France currently possesses only the first two.
French intercontinental ballistic missiles
The sea component comprises four Le Triomphant-class strategic nuclear-powered submarines (Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant, and Le Terrible). Each submarine can carry up to 16 M51 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Each missile is 12 metres long, weighs over 50,000 kilograms, and has an estimated range of 8,050 to 10,000 kilometres. The missiles can carry MIRV warheads, consisting of up to 10 TN 75 sub-warheads with a yield of 150 kilotons.
France has already begun work on building the next generation of strategic submarines—in April 2024, the metal-cutting (the process of cutting and shaping elements) for the first in a series of four SNLE 3G (Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins de 3ème Génération) submarines commenced. These submarines are expected to enter service at five-year intervals between 2035 and 2050, gradually replacing the Le Triomphant-class submarines.
French nuclear cruise missiles
The second pillar of France's nuclear deterrence is the air component—France has nuclear-armed cruise missiles. These are the ASMP-A missiles with TN 81 warheads, with 150-300 kiloton yields. Designed with stealth features, the ASMP-A missiles are carried by Rafale aircraft (until recently, they were also carried by Mirage 2000N), have a range of 480 kilometres, and can reach Mach 3 speeds.
France is currently working on the next generation of nuclear-armed cruise missiles. Alongside the development version of the ASMP-A missile (ASMPA-R) with an extended range, the ASN4G (air-sol nucléaire de 4e génération) — a hypersonic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres—is also being developed.
