M2 MSBS | |
---|---|
Type | SLBM |
Service history | |
In service | 1974-78 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 19,500 kg (43,000 lb) |
Length | 10.67 m (35.0 ft) |
Diameter | 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) |
Blast yield | 1 × nuclear warhead, 1,000 kt (4,200 TJ) |
Engine | Two-stage solid-fuel rocket 440 kN (99,000 lbf) |
Operational range | 3,200 km (2,000 mi) |
Guidance system | Inertial |
Launch platform | Redoutable-class SNLEs (SSBNs) |
The M2 MSBS was the second French submarine-launched ballistic missile. In French, MSBS is the abbreviation for Mer-Sol Balistique Stratégique, or Sea-Ground Strategic Ballistic Missile. It has two stages. It was deployed on the Redoutable-class SNLEs (Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins) (Device-launching Nuclear Submarine) or SSBNs from 1974 to 1978, replacing the M1 MSBS. The M2 was itself replaced by the M20 MSBS beginning in 1977.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ MSBS M2 at Astronautix.com Archived 2012-06-17 at the Wayback Machine