France Places Ballistic Missile Order With EADS

NUKEWARS

In July French prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin justified the M51 programme, saying: "The nuclear deterrent remains the fundamental element of French independence. The M51 missiles fired from a submarine will be at the forefront of modern technology."

Paris (AFP) Dec 23, 2004
The French arms procurement agency DGA has placed an order worth 3.0 billion euros (4.02 billion dollars) with the EADS aeronautics company for M51 ballistic missiles for nuclear warheads, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The M51 missile, capable of carrying six nuclear warheads, is to replace from 2010 the M45 missile on four nuclear-armed submarines in the strategic ocean force capable of launching new-generation missiles.

The M51 missiles has greater range and accuracy than the M45.

The order was placed with a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, EADS Space Transportation, which will work with the Snecma Propulsion group and SNPE Materiaux.

The contracts are expected to provide work to 1,200 people for 10 years.

The cost of producing the missiles is 3.0 billion euros and the total cost of developing the programme is 5.0 billion euros, the defence ministry has said.

The ministry has not said how many missiles will be produced, although each submarine can be armed with 16 missiles as well as replacements.

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

NUKEWARS

Northrop Grumman To Modernize Guidance Systems On US Nuclear Missiles

Clearfield UT (SPX) Dec 22, 2004
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $153 million contract to continue full-rate production of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Guidance Replacement Program (GRP).

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.