A French Rafale combat aircraft carrying the current ASMPA supersonic nuclear missile. A future standard of the aircraft is to carry the ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile from Luxeuil-St Sauveur Air Base from 2035. (Dassault)
France is to strengthen its nuclear defence posture, with French President Emmanuel Macron announcing on 18 March that Luxeuil-St Sauveur Air Base in the east of the country is to receive two new squadrons of nuclear-capable Dassault Rafale combat aircraft.
Also known as Air Base 116 (Base Aérienne [BA] 116), Luxeuil-St Sauveur Air Base will be returned to the nuclear mission, which it lost in 2011, with F5-standard Rafales carrying the MBDA France Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4eme Génération (ASN4G) hypersonic nuclear missile from the location from 2035. The ASN4G is now being developed for the role in place of the existing ASMPA (Air-Sol Moyenne Portée Amélioré) supersonic missile.
“To come here [to Luxeuil-St Sauveur Air Base] is to go to the sources of our combat aviation and our nuclear deterrence, a history where the defence of our country and the permanent evolution of the [French] Air and Space Force are intimately intertwined,” Macron said during a visit to the base alongside French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
“Emmanuel Macron came to confirm to the airmen of BA 116 of Luxeuil-les-Bains the nuclear vocation of their base. It will accommodate the future 7th and 8th Rafale squadrons upgraded to the F5 standard, and the future ASN4G nuclear missile that they will carry. An investment of nearly EUR1.5 billion, provided for in the military planning law, which will be accompanied by a doubling of the base's personnel, will benefit the entire territory,” Lecornu added.
As noted by Janes World Air Forces
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