The is a
Ballistic Missile Submarine class of the French
''Marine Nationale '' , the oceanic part (''
Force Océanique Stratégique '', FOST) of the ''
Force De Frappe ''. In French, the type is called ''Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins'' (SNLE), literally "Missile-launching nuclear submarine".
The class entered active service in
1971 with ''Le Redoutable'', six submarines were built in total. Only one is still active, ''L'Inflexible'' (S615) based at Ile Longue,
Brest . The structural changes in ''L'Inflexible'' have seen it regarded as a different class from the early boats. The class has been superseded by the
''Le Triomphant'' Class , firing the larger
M45 missile (
M51 from around
2010 ).
The first submarine, ''Le Redoutable'', was ordered in
1963 , built at
Cherbourg , launched in
1967 and commissioned in
1971 . Later submarines were very heavily upgraded from
1985 to fire the 2nd generation
MIRV capable
M4 missile - ''Le Tonnant'' was recommissioned in
1987 ; ''L'Indomptable'' in
1989 ; ''Le Terrible'' in
1990 ; and ''Le Foudroyant'' in
1993 .
Boat list:
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/M-4_SLBM" class="copylinks">M4 Missile right, the SNLE-NG ('' Le Triomphant '' type) with the present M45 Missile and the future M51 Missile
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