''Le Terrible'' is a
strategic nuclear submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. The boat was
launched on 21 March 2008
On 27 January 2010, at 9h25, ''
Le Terrible'' launched an
M51 SLBM
The M51 SLBM is a French submarine-launched ballistic missile, built by ArianeGroup, and deployed with the French Navy. Designed to replace the M45 SLBM (In French terminology the MSBS – ''Mer-Sol-Balistique-Stratégique'' "Sea-ground-Strategic ...
from underwater, in
Audierne
Audierne (; br, Gwaien) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
; the flight took about 20 minutes.
The submarine was put into service on 20 September 2010 armed with the 16
M51 missiles.
''Terrible'' is fitted with a new SYCOBS combat system (SYstem de COmbat Barracuda-SSBN) which will also be installed on the new Barracuda class SSNs.
In July 2017 French president
Macron visited the submarine in the Atlantic and took part in a simulated missile launch.
See also
*
List of submarines of France
The submarines of France include Nuclear submarine, nuclear attack submarines and nuclear ballistic missile submarines of various List of submarine classes, classes, operated by the French Navy as part of the Submarine forces (France), French Subma ...
Sources and references
Triomphant-class submarines
Ships built in France
2008 ships
Submarines of France
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