Breaking news
DCNS Started Upgrading the Last French Navy SSBN Le Téméraire for the new M51 Ballistic Missile.
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French Navy Le Triomphant-class SSBN Le Téméraire. Picture: DCNS
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A workforce of 1,100
The scope of the work will require an increase in the headcount on the site. As a result, 1,100 people will be taking part in the programme during the peak of activity in dock 8, with an organisation in three shifts, six days a week. "This complex project illustrates the expertise of DCNS, as prime contractor and project supervisor. In addition to our own teams on the sites in Brest, Ruelle and elsewhere, we are coordinating the work of some 45 companies in the region around Brest and the West of France that have been called upon to carry out with us the 4 million hours of work required by the overhaul, all in compliance with our safety, deadlines and quality of work specifications," explains Michel Drévillon, director of the IA M51 programme. As part of its Progress Plan and objectives to increase safety at work, DCNS has launched various performance measures in order to optimise the rhythm of the three eight-hour shifts, peaks in activity and interventions on the site. Finally, thanks to feedback from the ROH / adaptation work on the SSBN Le Triomphant, on this project, DCNS has further strengthened its ties with its subcontractors: a shared performance plan has been set up to meet the challenge of carrying out the full ROH / Adaptationprogramme in 1 month less than the last. |
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French New Generation SLBM M51. Picture: French MoD |
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Comment by Navy Recognition
The M51 is fitted today on board three of the four new generation SSBNs of the French Navy (Le Triomphant class). The transition of the entire French Navy's strategic oceanic force fleet to the M51 missile is expected by the end of the decade. The M51 is the new generation intercontinental SLBM gradually replacing the M45 since 2010. Each missile carries six to ten independently targetable (MIRV or Multiple Independently targeted Reentry Vehicle) TN 75 thermonuclear warheads. TN 75 started getting replaced with the new Tête nucléaire océanique (TNO or oceanic nuclear warhead) warheads last year (2015). These new warheads are reported to be maneuverable (MARV or Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicle) in order to avoid potential ballistic defenses. The TNO has a yield that is estimated to be greater than or equal to the yield of the TN 75 warhead, 150 kilotons of TNT (kt) with a CEP (circular error probability) of 150 meters. The warhead's design and functionality were validated through simulation, particularly with DAM's Tera 100 supercomputer, Megajoule laser, and radiographic equipment. The M51 range is reported to be close to 10,000 Km. |
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