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The Force de frappe (literally Striking Force; meant for dissuasion, i.e. Deterrence) is the designation of what used to be a triad of air, sea and land based French Nuclear Forces, part of the Military of France. France has the fourth largest nuclear force in the world, after the United States, China, and Russia.
History
It was conceived in the 1960s by Général de Gaulle, mainly as a means to ensure the safety of France vs. the USSR and its independence from NATO, which was considered to be dominated by the USA to an unacceptable degree. In particular, the risk that the United States could fail to come to the aid of its Western European allies should the USSR invade them was considered significant: the U.S., already embroiled in a foreign war in Vietnam (ironically an ex-French colony), could hesitate rather than risk retaliation on its own homeland in order to save its European allies.
Initially, the Force de frappe consisted of gravity bombs; the Dassault Mirage IV strategic bomber was designed so as to carry the bombs over the targets in the former Eastern bloc. Later, the land element contained the Pluton and the Hadès, mobile tactical and strategic missiles of limited range, designed to be launched at approaching Russian armies from the East. The Pluton missile was retired in 1993 and its successor the Hadès was produced in limited numbers in the 1990s and placed in storage in 1992 (the last missile was dismantled on June 23, 1997). The bomber version of the Mirage IV was retired in 1996.
Since it was deemed that a full-scale Soviet invasion of Europe was unlikely to be stopped by conventional forces, these weapons were meant as a "warning shot" which would tell the enemy that further advance would trigger a full-scale nuclear attack on its main cities. This "worse-case" doctrine is called Stratégie du faible au fort ("Weak-to-strong strategy"); the idea behind is that a full-scale nuclear war would be lost by both opponents, and that a stronger opponent, having more to lose, would therefore refrain from proceeding further (like "being the best boxer in a gunfight" —see MAD). The principle was summarised by De Gaulle himself:
- Dans dix ans, nous aurons de quoi tuer 80 millions de Russes. Eh bien je crois qu'on n'attaque pas volontiers des gens qui ont de quoi tuer 80 millions de Russes, même si on a soi-même de quoi tuer 800 millions de Français, à supposer qu'il y eût 800 millions de Français.
- (translation:)
- Within ten years we shall have whatever is necessary to kill 80 million Russians. Well I believe one does not light-heartly attack people who are able to kill 80 million Russians, even if one can kill 800 million French, that is if there were 800 million French.
Present state
Land-based component
France does not have active IRBMs anymore, the only IRBM base at the Plateau d'Albion (Vaucluse region) having been deactivated in 1996.The other two long range elements of the triad are still operative.
Sea-based component
The French navy includes a nuclear strategic branch, the Force Océanique Stratégique, composed of a fleet of nuclear ballistic submarines made up of one Redoutable-class unit (the Inflexible) and three SSBNs of the Triomphant-class (the Triomphant, the Téméraire, the Vigilant).One additional Triomphant class, the Terrible, is under construction, commissioning being due for 2008.
Air-based component
The air force has 60 Mirage 2000 NK2 long range fighter bombers carrying ASMP medium-range attack missiles with nuclear warheads. They replaced the initial Mirage IV.See also
Military of France | Nuclear weapons | Force de frappe | Force de dissuasion nucléaire française
"Force de frappe"