Even so, it isn’t really news, is it.

We want p-i-c-s!

Interesting news. A nice test-launch history, especially when compared with Bulava.

French submarine test-fires M51 missile for first time
English.news.cn 2010-01-27 20:26:59

PARIS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — The French Navy successfully carried out its first test-firing of an M51 ballistic missile launched from a submarine, a defense ministry statement said on Wednesday.

The test, conducted earlier in the day, came after three flight tests from land-based launch facilities done between 2006 and 2008.

The test was carried out around 9:25 a.m. (0825 GMT) from the submarine, Le Terrible, at the Audierne Bay in northwestern France.

“(Defense) Minister Herve Morin expressed his great satisfaction with the success, which is so far the fourth experimental flight of the M51 strategic missile without a nuclear warhead,” the statement added.

The missile, which reportedly weighs 54 tons and has a range of up to10,000 km, carries six to 10 independently-targetable thermonuclear warheads.

Six more flight tests have been planned for the missile before it enters service this year.

The submarine-launched missile will be part of France’s nuclear deterrent program.

When in service, each submarine will carry up to 16 M51 missiles.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-01/27/c_13153402.htm

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1524200&postcount=465

aka ButterFace 🙂

aka SLUF – short little ugly fella’

This forum just got a whole lot more weird. You guys are only a step away from those guys who marry their cars and do odd (read: disgusting) things to the exhaust.

+1 on that. Couldn’t agree more. What is our society getting into? Alas.

OK, and now let’s get back to the subject at hand. How about A-7 Corsair?? I think it’s pretty neat too:

The contest for the Indian contract will be tight. One of the Typhoon’s competitors is the F/A-18 Superhornet, a more modern and capable warplane than the F-15. The Superhornet, made by Boeing, is involved in other international sales fights, including an imminent warplane contract for Japan, against Eurofighter’s Typhoon.

I also think that this case EF vapourising F-15s is pure PR, but the article is pure BS as well.

Only one answer (great to see this again)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3woO0AbCw&

OK, this is off topic, but I think it’s worth it!

“A 1985 television commercial for the Citroën Visa GTI car was shot on Clemenceau. A race pits the car against a Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard; both continue off the end of the carrier, with the small automobile briefly keeping pace with the aircraft before plummeting into the ocean. Seconds later, though, the car triumphantly emerges, perched on the foredeck of a surfacing Agosta class submarine.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ2pQpZI7Ng

For what is worth, I think the saab commercial is far more classy…! 🙂

But then again, there is always the Gripen case turning into a car!

http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/press/060221.html

Do you mean the Farnborough office?
Forget it.

Of course not.

They are there for the South African, Hungarian and Czech backup suport. There are contracts inked with those three countries in wich BAE is involved, the company who sold (rented to the European countries) those aircrafts was called “Saab-BAe Gripen AB” (it changed its name to “Gripen International in 2001) in wich 50% belonged to “BAESystemsGripenOverseasLtd”.
BAE has no active participation in the Marketing of the Gripen since january 2005.
They were not involved in Thailand, they are not involved in Brasil, they are not involved in India and they are not involved in Switzerland.

Quite correct, that’s how the story goes… 😉

BAE still works closely yet discreetly with Saab, its officials don’t even bother to state it in public, but hej! you can believe whatever you want! It’s a free world, mostly.