France has test-fired its new M51.3 nuclear-capable ballistic missile for the first time from a submarine.

The missile, the third variant of the M51 sea-launched ballistic missile, was fired from the nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine Le Vigilant and impacted in the North Atlantic, “hundreds of kilometers from any coastline,” the defense ministry said.

President Emmanuel Macron watched from a French warship. The Direction générale de l’armement tracked the flight, including with the trials ship Monge.

“The launch was conducted without a nuclear warhead and in strict compliance with France’s international commitments,” the ministry said. It called the shot proof of “the excellence of the high-tech solutions employed by French industry in the field of nuclear deterrence.”

The M51.3, built by ArianeGroup, entered service on 24 October 2025.

An earlier flight, in November 2023, was from a land site.

À bord de la frégate multi-missions Auvergne, j'ai assisté au premier tir du nouveau missile balistique M51.3 depuis le sous-marin nucléaire lanceur d'engins Le Vigilant.

Très peu de nations disposent d'un tel savoir-faire.

Félicitations à tous les acteurs de cette réussite… pic.twitter.com/bElCe99hMd

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 6, 2026

French President Macron wrote on X (translated): Aboard the multi-mission frigate Auvergne, I witnessed the first firing of the new M51.3 ballistic missile from the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Vigilant. Very few nations possess such expertise. Congratulations to all the players in this exceptional achievement: DGA, CEA, Ariane Group, Naval Group, and the French Navy.

Your professionalism, your rigor, and your technical mastery are the pride of France. This technical success is a new demonstration of the credibility of our deterrence, whose sustainability is assured. To be free, one must be feared. And to be feared, one must be powerful. To protect the French in the long term against threats, I launched the renewal of our capabilities for the decades to come as early as 2017. In ten years, the budget for our armed forces will have doubled.

Our future strategic submarines are currently under construction. This year, we launched the program for hypersonic and maneuverable strategic missiles, which will equip our airborne deterrence component. Our nuclear deterrence protects us and will continue to protect us. Long live the Republic, and long live France.

Tuesday’s firing was the first from a submarine, and it closed Le Vigilant’s requalification after a long refit. A navigation warning had closed a box southwest of Penmarc’h from 5 to 21 October. Witnesses at Penmarc’h reported the missile leaving the water shortly after 09:10, with a contrail and a sustained rumble.

Open-source figures put the M51 at about 12 meters, 2.3 meters in diameter and roughly 52 tonnes, with three solid stages, an estimated range of 8,000 to 10,000 km and a speed near Mach 20.

The M51.3 carries the newer TNO-2 oceanic warhead. Analysts usually cite four to six independently targetable warheads of about 100 kilotons, plus penetration aids. Paris says the variant has better range, accuracy, and ability to defeat missile defenses. Exact figures remain classified.

The missile arms the four Triomphant-class submarines, one of which remains at sea as part of France’s continuous deterrent.

A follow-on, the M51.4, was contracted to ArianeGroup in September 2025. The next submarine class, SNLE 3G, had its first steel cut in March 2024, with the first boat aimed at the mid-2030s.

The test comes as Macron has warned of a change in “Russian aggression and threats” after a run of hybrid attacks blamed on Moscow, and has said those actions would “not go unanswered.” He has also offered European partners a role in France’s nuclear deterrent, the only one in the European Union.

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M51

According to Ariane Group, the M51 sea–surface submarine-launched ballistic missile is a solid-propellant, three-stage launcher weighing over 50 metric tons and measuring 12 meters long. Each of the FOST’s SSBNs carries 16 missiles, capable of delivering their payload over intercontinental distances of several thousand kilometers.

Launched from a submarine, the M51 travels through the Earth’s atmosphere into space, reaching an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers, well beyond low-Earth orbit.

It then re-enters the atmosphere at Mach 20. The M51 is a concentration of space technologies combining power, precision, and reliability. Because deterrence credibility depends on its permanent availability, the system must be fully ready at all times.

Commissioned at the end of 2010, the M51 is the fifth generation of French ballistic missiles.

The missile is developed in increments to respond effectively to changes in the geostrategic context and France’s requirements. This means ArianeGroup, Europe’s only company capable of designing and producing a strategic missile, must stay at the cutting edge of technology and maintain the highest performance.

The M51.2 is the current in-service version.

It will be succeeded by the M51.3 version, which successfully carried out its qualification flight without a nuclear warhead.

With AFP Inputs

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The Pentagon recently announced a whopping US$24.4 billion contract to defense giant Raytheon to speed up the production of “three-in-one” SM-6 missiles.

The Pentagon called the SM-6 “a critical anti-air and anti-surface warfare munition.” It said the five-year agreement, with two additional option years, “will drive faster production, increase manufacturing throughput, and deliver significant cost savings.”

The deal “provides the defense industry with the long-term predictability needed to expand workforce capacity and secure critical supply chains,” the Pentagon added.

The award lands after a year in which interceptor stocks were burned down. The US Defense Department’s inspector general reported last month that acquisition officials said: “the munitions expenditure on Operation Epic Fury has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.”

A September 15 Congressional Budget Office assessment said the United States has probably used between one-half and two-thirds of its stocks of certain missile-defense interceptors since June 2025, naming the SM-6 alongside Patriot, THAAD and the SM-3.

Rebuilding those inventories would take at least five years even if production rose, the agency said, and would leave the Pentagon with fewer interceptors for a possible clash with China.

The CBO put the cost of a Patriot or an SM-6 at about $4 million a round, compared with about $12 million for a THAAD interceptor and $28 million for an SM-3. It said the weapons were used in large numbers defending Israel and then during Operation Epic Fury.

Outside estimates run higher: a table compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and carried by the Financial Times in April put the SM-6 at $5.3 million a round, with a pre-war stock of about 1,160 and wartime use of 190 to 370.

The Pentagon has not published an SM-6 round count for the war.

Raytheon confirmed in a statement that its SM-6 “has been successfully fired from various US Navy ship-based platforms and launchers on land,” calling it a “combat-proven weapon.”

The weapons-maker also acknowledged increased efforts to meet demand. “By continuously investing in our operations and facilities, we are removing constraints and boosting capacity to ensure we deliver this critical capability our sailors depend on,” Raytheon President Phil Jasper said.

SM-6 Missile

The SM-6 missile was created for extended-range anti-air warfare (ER-AAW), including defense against UAVs, military aircraft, anti-ship cruise missiles, and terminal ballistic missile defense. It also acts as a high-velocity anti-ship missile.

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The SM-6 is based on the earlier SM-2ER Block IV (RIM-156A) missile airframe, with the AIM-120C AMRAAM active radar-homing seeker replacing the former design’s semi-active seeker.

The official designation is RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile, or ERAM. It is fired from the Mk 41 vertical launching system already fitted on US and allied destroyers and cruisers, so a ship does not need a new launcher to carry it.

What makes the SM-6 different from the older Standard missiles is that it does not have to rely only on the firing ship’s radar. Through Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air, or NIFC-CA, it can take targeting data from an E-2D Hawkeye, another ship, or a fighter such as the F-35, and engage a target beyond the horizon of the ship that launches it.

The active seeker then finishes the intercept on its own. In plain terms, the missile can be cued by a sensor the target cannot see, and still home in the last miles.

Raytheon describes the SM-6 missile as “three missiles in one,” and says it is the only weapon that can perform anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, and ballistic missile defense or sea-based terminal missions.

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The Block IA and IB updates improve the seeker and guidance against harder, complex targets, while the Block IB adds a larger rocket motor for more range and speed against high-end air threats. Its exact range remains classified, but it is widely believed that it could reach over 200 nautical miles and fly at roughly Mach 3.5.

That spread of roles is also why the missile is expensive, and why magazines matter. A destroyer that fills its cells with SM-6s gains reach, but it burns through a scarce inventory if it uses the same missile for aircraft, cruise missiles, ships, and terminal ballistic shots.

China has reportedly been wary of the missile because of its capabilities. US allies in the region, including Japan, Australia, and South Korea, are lined up to acquire it.

The SM-6 on the Typhon Mid-Range Capability launcher is a ship missile adapted for strikes against land and sea targets. The Army has described the battery as a “strategic” weapon system to be used against higher-value targets such as air defense facilities and command and control centers — an important weapon given the region’s prevailing tensions.

In that ground-launched form, it sits alongside the Tomahawk, giving land forces a strike option that once belonged only to ships.

The US has also developed an air-launched variant of the SM-6, known as the AIM-174B, mounted on a US Navy Super Hornet, which broke cover during RIMPAC 2024. Fired from altitude and speed, it pushes an air-to-air engagement far outside the range of a carrier group’s older missiles.

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A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornet was pictured carrying an AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) during a US test event in California. The development comes weeks after RAAF said it would become the first operator, outside the US, of the JATMs.

The image, clicked on Sept. 11 at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu and released by the U.S. Navy, shows aircraft A44-209 of No. 1 Squadron during Exercise Gray Flag 2026. However, the missile’s ownership remains unconfirmed.

The Navy caption does not name the weapon. Analysts identified the weapon as an AIM-260 training round, citing blue bands that mark an inert motor or warhead. No live firing was reported. The sortie appears to have been a captive-carry flight.

Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said at Exercise Pitch Black on 6 August that Australia would invest almost A$736 million, about $518 million, to buy the missile through US foreign military sales.

Canberra did not say how many rounds that sum would buy. A separate U.S. notification in March covered a possible sale of up to 450 AIM-260s, plus test vehicles, estimated at $3.16 billion.

“This announcement is the latest milestone in the delivery of long-range, high‑tech capabilities for our Defense Force,” Marles said in Darwin. “The Albanese government continues to deliver critical capabilities that will allow the ADF to strike at a longer range, deter any adversary, and protect our national interests. It is fitting to make this announcement at Exercise Pitch Black, which is an important demonstration of Australia’s commitment to the peace, stability, and security of our region.”

Australia will integrate the missile first on the F/A-18F, then on the F-35A and the EA-18G Growler. Canberra said Australia would be the first country to field the AIM-260 outside the United States, and that it would complement existing air-to-air missiles.

“The acquisition of the AIM-260 JATM will provide Air Force platforms with a credible deterrent against airborne targets, complementing existing air-to-air missile capabilities and other surface-based missile capabilities across the Australian Defense Force (ADF). It will also further enhance Australia’s interoperability with the United States,” the Australian Department of Defense earlier said in a statement.

The existence of the AIM-260 JATM was initially confirmed in 2019 during an Air Force Life Cycle Management Center industry conference. Because of its sensitivity, the AIM-260 JATM is classified as a Special Access Program (SAP), and details have remained mostly classified.

In 2022, General Mark Kelly, the head of the United States Air Force’s Air Combat Command, shared an artist’s concept of the Lockheed Martin F-22 firing an AIM-260 JATM.

More recently, the US Navy publicly revealed the rendering of the missile in February 2025. At the time, experts said it looked similar to the AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missile.

Nonetheless, the AIM-260 appears to have a larger rocket motor section and no mid-body surfaces, unlike the AIM-120. Although little is known about the JATM, reports suggest it will use dual-pulse rocket motors or ramjets to increase range and performance.

The AIM-260 could carry an advanced multi-mode seeker system that may include infrared imaging and active radar. The dual-seeker system could improve resilience to electronic warfare countermeasures and increase accuracy.

Like the AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM derivative, the AIM-260 is anticipated to have a two-way datalink. This feature would greatly increase the missile’s efficacy in networked battle by enabling mid-course targeting upgrades or re-targeting.

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The planned US sequence has the AIM-260 entering service first on the F-22 Raptors, then the F-35s and the Navy’s F/A-18E/F. Australia intends to integrate it on the F/A-18F before the F-35A and EA-18G.

US Arms Australia

The Indo-Pacific landscape is rapidly changing, with China emerging as a global military power and intimidating its neighbors. Although not an immediate neighbor, Australia is also concerned by Beijing’s growing military might and ambitions.

Australia has emerged as one of America’s strongest military partners. At the heart of this security architecture is the AUKUS submarine pact, signed alongside the UK.

Under this pact, Australia will acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered (not nuclear-armed) submarines. Nuclear propulsion would give the Australian Navy unparalleled stealth, range, and endurance, allowing it to operate deep within contested waters without surfacing for oxygen, as conventional submarines do.

Washington is also strengthening Australia’s strike capabilities. The RAAF has also acquired F-35 stealth jets, ensuring seamless interoperability with the US military and allies like Japan.

To complement these platforms, Washington has approved the sale of advanced long-range strike weapons, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, HIMARS, and AGM-158B JASSM-ER missiles. These weapons effectively shift Australia’s military posture from territorial defense to robust power projection.

The US is boosting Australia’s capabilities to establish domestic guided-missile manufacturing, securing a resilient supply chain outside the American mainland. Increased rotations of US bombers, maritime patrol aircraft, and troops to northern Australian military bases further cement this partnership.

While Washington and Canberra frame these advancements as essential steps to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” Beijing views the militarisation as an encirclement strategy. By arming Australia with these cutting-edge capabilities, the US is ensuring that any potential conflict in the region would face a highly sophisticated and unified allied front.

• By ET Online Desk
• Mail us at: editor (at) eurasiantimes.com

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