France plans to develop a ballistic missile with a range of over 2,000 km

France is exploring the possibility of creating a new medium-range ground-based ballistic missile capable of striking targets at a distance of over 2,000 km.

This was reported by the publication Hartpunkt, citing a report published by the National Assembly of France.

The technical specifications for the new ballistic missile with a conventional (non-nuclear) warhead are currently being developed. Its purpose is to serve as a means of non-nuclear deterrence and long-range destruction of enemy targets.

Along with the presentation of the concept in parliament, the possibility of potentially deploying these missiles outside French territory was also discussed.

It is noted that initially, both ballistic and cruise missiles were considered. However, given the combat experience of the war in Ukraine, a decision was made in favor of ballistic missiles as a means that is much more difficult to intercept.

According to French parliament speakers, they hope for close integration between the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) program and the existing French PEM FLP-T long-range ground strike program. The latter involves the development of both a long-range strike missile and a long-range cruise missile.

Today, France remains the only European country with advanced missile manufacturing capabilities. It produces M51  intercontinental ballistic missiles for submarines and participates in the development of Ariane space launch vehicles.

This enables France to use existing technologies to provide the European part of NATO with modern long-range strike capabilities, which are scheduled to be delivered in the 2030s.

It should be noted that the idea of creating a French ballistic missile was discussed back in 2024, when the initial requirements for striking targets at a distance of over 1,000 km were put forward.

During the Cold War, France was also the only country to possess domestically produced tactical ballistic missiles, known as Pluton.

Possible contenders for the contract to develop the new missile system include European defense giant MBDA and the French aerospace consortium ArianeGroup, which is owned by Airbus and Safran and is responsible for developing the M51 missiles and the Ariane series of orbital launch vehicles.

Obviously, such weapons, in addition to conventional warheads, could also be used to deliver tactical nuclear warheads, which would be much more difficult to intercept than cruise missiles.