France conducted the first at-sea firing of its latest submarine-launched ballistic missile on Oct. 5, with President Emmanuel Macron watching from a nearby surface vessel. The French Navy’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine SNLE Le Vigilant (S618) launched an M51.3 SLBM—minus its nuclear warhead—off the coast of Finistère, France, reported USNI News. The missile landed in the North Atlantic, several hundred kilometers from any coastline, reads a news release from the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs. The launch was the first time the M51.3, which entered operational service on Oct. 24, 2025, had been launched from a submerged SSBN, and only the second time the missile had been fired—the first having been for a ground-based qualification in November of 2023.

Macron watched the launch from frigate FS Auvergne (D654) and posted a video of the event on his X account. “This technical success is a new demonstration of the credibility of our deterrence, whose sustainability is assured. To be free, one must be feared. And to be feared, one must be powerful,” reads Macron’s post. (Some observors wondered whether Pete Hegseth may have taken a part-time second job as speech writer.—ed.)