France recently completed a milestone qualification test flight of the improved M51.3 submarine-launched ballistic missile. The launch reinforces the advanced capacities of France’s naval nuclear forces as the country modernizes its credible deterrent posture. Advancing France’s Strategic Forces Defense Minister Lecornu hailed the November test launch as demonstrating a major evolution in the M51 platform to keep France’s sea-based deterrence robust and adapted to emerging threats. The unarmed test validated the missile’s modernized systems without violating international agreements, firing far