Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of French Navy  

Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of French Navy

The Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines of the French Navy is the active class of four boats that entered service in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2010. These four supersede the older Redoutable-class, and they provide the ocean-based component (the Force océanique stratégique) of France's nuclear deterrent strike force, the Force de Frappe. The first three boats are all armed with the French-produced and armed M45 intermediate-range missile, and the fourth vessel, Terrible, has tested and is equipped with the more advanced M51 missile. Each of the first three boats are to be retrofitted to the M51 missile standard, starting with Vigilant in Winter 2010, then Triomphant and ending with Téméraire in 2018.