Emmanuel Macron stood aboard the French warship Auvergne off Finistère as the M51.3 rose into the sky from the nuclear-powered submarine Le Vigilant. The French president recorded the launch and later posted the footage on X.
France conducted the first operational test-firing of its new M51.3 nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine on 6 October 2026. The missile was fired from Le Vigilant off Brittany, carried no warhead or payload, and struck the North Atlantic several hundred kilometres from any coastline. France said the launch complied strictly with international obligations.
Macron watched from the Auvergne and used the test to underline what he called France’s strategic credibility. In a video on X, he said: ‘Today we are stronger. The message has been sent loud and clear for wherever it must be received.’
He called the firing ‘a very important moment for our strategic credibility’ and said events around it ‘will be closely scrutinized by both our allies and our competitors alike.’
In another message, Macron wrote: ‘To be free, one must be feared. And to be feared, one must be powerful.’
The M51.3 is an upgraded version of France’s M51 missile. It entered operational service in October 2025, and is estimated to have a range of more than 9,500 kilometres. ArianeGroup manufactured the missile.
ArianeGroup and France’s Directorate General for Armament completed a first flight test of the modernised M51 from Biscarrosse in southwest France in 2023.
France is the European Union’s sole nuclear weapons power and has the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, with roughly 290 submarine- and air-launched weapons. It spends roughly €5.6 billion ($6.04 billion) a year maintaining its nuclear stockpile.
Macron said in March that France would expand its nuclear arsenal. Its modernisation programme includes new ballistic-missile submarines and plans to adapt Rafale fighter jets to carry a hypersonic nuclear cruise missile.
Macron has warned that Russian aggression and threats against European nations have changed in character after a series of hybrid attacks blamed on Moscow. In mid-September, he said those attacks would not go unanswered.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, warned the West last week against escalating its standoff over Ukraine by threatening Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave.
After the test, Macron said the technical result showed the credibility of France’s nuclear deterrent and that its long-term viability was assured.
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