France's nuclear budget surges: 7.2 billion dollars revealed
Why do so few countries possess nuclear weapons? This is not only due to the technical challenges and political consequences of entering the "nuclear club" but also because of the costs of maintaining a nuclear arsenal. The scale of expenditure is revealed by France's defense budget, which includes approximately 300 nuclear warheads.
3:01 PM EDT, October 20, 2024
In 2024, 14 percent of the French defense budget was allocated to "nuclear deterrence." Since France's defense expenditure this year is 47.2 billion euros (51.3 billion USD), this means that Paris allocated 6.6 billion euros (7.2 billion USD) to nuclear weapons.
This is an increase compared to previous years when France's nuclear arsenal consumed about 12 percent of defense expenditures. The scale of spending is emphasized by the fact that 6.6 billion euros (approximately 7.2 billion USD) are the costs borne annually by a country that has already developed nuclear weapons and has had the scientific and technical resources for their development and production for years.
Furthermore, the French nuclear arsenal is fairly limited in terms of the number of warheads and the means of delivery, which do not form a complete nuclear triad. This term includes sea, air, and land-based nuclear delivery systems. France currently possesses only the first two.
French intercontinental ballistic missiles
The sea component comprises four Le Triomphant-class strategic nuclear-powered submarines (Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant, and Le Terrible). Each submarine can carry up to 16 M51 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Each missile is 39 feet long, weighs over 110,000 pounds, and has an estimated range of 5,000 to 6,200 miles. The missiles can carry MIRV warheads, consisting of up to 10 TN 75 sub-warheads with a yield of 150 kt.
France has already begun work on building the next generation of strategic submarines. In April 2024, the metal-cutting (cutting and shaping elements) for the first in a series of four SNLE 3G (Sous-Marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins de 3e Génération) submarines commenced. These submarines are expected to enter service at five-year intervals between 2035 and 2050, gradually replacing the Le Triomphant-class submarines.
French nuclear cruise missiles
The second pillar of France's nuclear deterrence is the air component—France has nuclear-armed cruise missiles. These are the ASMP-A missiles with TN 81 warheads, with 150-300 kt yields. Designed with stealth features, the ASMP-A missiles are carried by Rafale aircraft (until recently, they were also carried by Mirage 2000N), have a range of 300 miles, and can reach Mach 3 speeds.
France is currently working on the next generation of nuclear-armed cruise missiles. Alongside the development version of the ASMP-A missile (ASMPA-R) with an extended range, the ASN4G (air-sol nucléaire de 4e génération)—a hypersonic missile with a range of 620 miles—is also being developed.
