Beaumont, Hervé Avions nucléaires français

De 1964 à nos jours

For over 50 years, the defense of France's vital interests has been guaranteed by its nuclear deterrent force, which at its peak consisted of bombers, missiles on the Albion Plateau, and nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles. Since October 1964, the manned air force has maintained a continuous strategic and tactical nuclear vigilance. Like the nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles, this readily available and operational component can be placed on alert and activated at the President's command should the extreme severity and imminence of a threat to France be confirmed. For the first time, a book chronicles the history of French nuclear aircraft, their nuclear weapons, and their deterrent missions, carried out by the Strategic Air Forcethe oldest command of the French Air Forcesince 1964, by the Tactical Air Force from 1973 to 1991, and by the French Navy since 1979. All airborne nuclear weapon systemsthe combination of aircraft and nuclear weaponare examined in their respective contexts, from both a technical and operational perspective, at the squadron and flotilla levels: Mirage IV A/ANM, Mirage IV P/ASMP, Mirage III E/ANT, Jaguar A/ANT, Super Étendard/ANT, Super Étendard SEM/ASMP, Mirage 2000 N/ASMP, Mirage 2000 Nk3/ASMP-A, Rafale M F3/ASMP-A, and Rafale B F3/ASMP-A. The history of these manned aircraft, written by one of the leading specialists in the field, is richly illustrated with numerous, often rare and previously unpublished documents, making it a valuable reference work.