France is considering deploying its Rafale aircraft in Germany for ASMP-A missiles under nuclear weapons in case the United States withdraws its nuclear arsenal from Europe, not to mention the “conventional” air force and ground forces.
The British publication writes about this The Telegraph, and against this background, it may also look interesting that the French, in addition to the SCALP-EG subsonic missiles, have another type of air-launched cruise missiles. Therefore, the question arises here about what capabilities France has in this segment of its nuclear arsenal, and what effect its deployment can have.
To begin with, it should be clarified that at the moment, ASMP-A supersonic cruise missiles are currently the only means of delivery for tactical nuclear weapons at France’s disposal, and specialized aircraft in the Rafale B variant are the only type of platform available to the French military for tactical nuclear weapons.
For a long time, the French armed forces used another type of aircraft for tactical nuclear weapons – the Mirage 2000N, which could also be an ASMP-A carrier. However, the last cars of this type were finally written off at the beginning of 2022.
Based on The Military Balance 2024 data, at the beginning of last year, France had a total of 20 specialized Rafale B aircraft, combined into two squadrons as part of the Air Force.
For the ASMP-A type supersonic cruise missiles, which were adopted in 2009, the following characteristics are given: launch weight – 860 kilograms, in particular the warhead – 200 kilograms, TN-80 / TN-81 nuclear warhead with a capacity of 300 kilotons; launch range – up to 600 kilometers, flight speed – up to Mach 3.
Further, it is worth clarifying that the “predecessor” of such a missile was the ASMP, which was adopted in 1986 and had a launch range of up to 300 kilometers. This clarification is important, in particular, for understanding how many missiles for the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons France can have at its disposal.
Because, for example, CSIS within the framework of its project Missile Threat writes that with a planned figure of 150 missiles, in fact, only 50 ASMP-A units could be produced. And right here you can see the claim that the French produced a total of 90 ASMP missiles and 60 ASMP-A units.
Given the figures outlined above for the segment of tactical nuclear weapons in France, it seems that the initiative with the deployment of specialized aircraft and missiles in Germany will only have the character of an “umbrella”. However, for Paris itself, this may literally be a “tectonic shift”, because over the past 30 years there have been no reports of the deployment of elements of the French nuclear arsenal on the territory of other countries.
