France is creating an MBT ballistic missile with a range of up to 2,000 km: what is known

Share: The French government has officially announced the launch of the Missile Balistique Terrestre (MBT) program, a land-based ballistic missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. The initiative marks a strategic turn after a long period of arms reduction. France is investing nearly €1 billion in a new long-range MBT ballistic missile despite a tight budget and cuts in public spending. This was reported by the news publication L'essentiel de l'Eco.

ArianeGroup, which is the only French and European developer of space launch vehicles and the creator of the M51 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile, has been appointed as the main contractor. The program is included in the draft budget of France for 2026 and the long-term program of defense development until 2030. The deployment of the complex is expected this year.

According to the plan, at the initial stage, the MBT program will be allocated: In this way, France seeks to gain the ability to deliver long-range, high-precision strikes on targets without resorting to nuclear weapons. However, the French military notes that the tactical and technical characteristics of the MBT are still being refined as part of the Long Range Strike Terrestrial program, aimed at increasing operational range and accuracy.

According to media reports, the French government believes that the existing SCALP cruise missiles have a limited range and subsonic characteristics, which makes them vulnerable to modern air defense systems. Ballistic missiles, on the contrary, demonstrate high speed and the ability to overcome anti-missile defense, as the experience of the war in Ukraine showed. Commenting on the news, Defense Express analysts noted that the MBT project will not be a development "from scratch" for ArianeGroup.

The company plans to use the experience gained during the creation of the M51 rocket, as well as the technologies of the P241 solid-fuel accelerators used in the Ariane 5 space vehicles. Experts believe that such solutions will make it possible to shorten the design time and increase the reliability of the new rocket.

In addition, during the 2025 Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, ArianeGroup has already presented mockups of ballistic missiles with a range of 1,000 and 2,500 km, presumably equipped with hypersonic gliders. French expertise in ballistic technology dates back to the 1960s, when the Force de Dissuasion nuclear deterrent was created.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the country deployed ground-based complexes for medium-range ballistic missiles (IMBs) S2 and S3, which became the basis of the nuclear arsenal on the Albion Plateau. After the end of the Cold War, Paris abandoned land-based nuclear ballistic systems — in 1998, the facility in Albion was completely denuclearized, and 18 S3D missiles were dismantled.