France test-fires nuclear missile a day after Russia conducts tactical nuclear drills

A day after Russia held tactical nuclear weapons drills, France test-fired an updated version of a nuclear missile.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said an ASMPA-R missile was fired without a warhead by a plane in a simulated nuclear aerial raid.

Even though the test-firing took place a day after the beginning of Russian nuclear drills, Lecornu said on X (formerly Twitter) that it was a “long-planned” operation. He further said the test-firing was part of enforcing French nuclear deterrence.

“This operation, planned for a long time, realises the ambition provided for in the military programming law for our nuclear deterrence, of which it demonstrates the excellence and operational credibility,” said Lecornu.

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Opération Durandal : un Rafale des Forces aériennes stratégiques vient de réaliser avec succès le premier tir d’essai en vol d’un missile nucléaire supersonique ASMPA rénové, sans charge embarquée.

Cette opération, prévue de longue date, concrétise l’ambition prévue en loi de… pic.twitter.com/DvEX3h62PV

— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) May 22, 2024

France goes bullish on nuclear & European security

Lately, France has gone bullish on nuclear military capability and the European security at large.

France has planned to spend around 13% of its military budget over the coming years on its independent nuclear capability, according to AFP.

The report further said that France is looking forward to developing next-generation air-launched missiles by 2035.

French President Emmanuel Macron has lately been highlighting the threat to Europe from Russia. He has also taken credit for an increased focus on security of the continent among European countries.

“Europe is now thinking about its own defense. This has been a real revolution in recent years, and it’s a revolution that has been pushed forward by France,” said Macron last month.

Russian nuclear drills and threats to the West

Russia on Tuesday launched tactical nuclear weapons exercises in its Southern Military District bordering Ukraine.

The tactical nuclear weapons refer to short-range nuclear weapons that are of lower yields and are intended to be used for battlefield purposes. Unlike strategic nuclear weapons that could wipe out whole cities and regions, the intended damage from tactical nuclear weapons is limited to the battlefield.

The exercises simulated the usage of nuclear weapons for potential use, said the Russian defence ministry.

The goal of the drills is to “unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials”, according to The New York Times.

The Russian defence ministry further said that the drills were a response to a statement from Macron in which he did not rule out sending French soldiers to Ukraine, according to the report. The statement also referred to British Foreign Minister David Cameron’s statement in which he said that Ukraine could use British-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly issued nuclear threats. The day he announced the invasion, on February 22, 2022, Putin warned that any country intervening would face “consequences such as you have never seen in your entire history”.

In the latest case, senior Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev threatened the West that any Russian nuclear attack will not be just limited to Ukraine. He also said the drills that Russia has now conducted were being done to plan for any attack on Russia soil aided by the West.

“Under certain circumstances the response will be delivered not only to Kiev and it won’t contain plain explosives but special ammunition as well. And to drill the response to such attacks is the aim of the planned military exercise. Even the semiliterate Imbeciles of His Royal Majesty should understand that,” said Medvedev in a post on X.

The “special kind of arms” is an apparent reference to nuclear weapons. The comment was a thinly-veiled threat of a potential Russian nuclear strike on Western nations.

A certain Mr. Cameron has called for fighting Putin to the bitter end.

Oh…
I remember the guy quite well. I used to work with him after he became the prime minister: a usual fishy Briton. Back then he was gleefully foolish and looked like a young daredevil reveling in a…

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) May 10, 2024

In the expletive-laden post aimed at British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Medvedev also targeted the French for their display of support to Ukraine.

“Basically, he tells Ukrainians to shoot the British missiles anywhere they wanted. And we –the British– are not afraid of anything, even of a nuclear conflict. A tough guy! You shouldn’t have said it, laddie. Bear in mind that those who handle the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles are not the halfwits dressed in embroidered shirts, but the British and French,” said Medvedev.