October 7, 2008

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Pluton

Country:  France
Alternate Name:  P-2
Class:  SRBM
Basing:  Road mobile
Length:  7.64 m
Diameter:  0.65 m
Launch Weight:  2423 kg
Payload:  Single warhead
Warhead:  Nuclear 15, 25 kT, HE
Propulsion:  Single-stage solid
Range:  120 km
Status:  Obsolete
In Service:  1974-1993

Details

The Pluton was a short-range, road-mobile, solid-propellant tactical ballistic missile. Both the missile and its warhead were developed without support from other NATO nations and were intended as the foundation of France's own nuclear deterrent.


The Pluton proved a reliable and readily deployable platform for the short-range deterrence system. It was launched from Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicles based on a modified AMX-30 tank chassis. The missile's relatively low weight allowed the mobile launch vehicle to easily maneuver in adverse road conditions. A CT-20 drone passed real-time targeting information to the Pluton command vehicle and allowed for updated targeting data. As it could be moved and fired easily, it was a capable battlefield system. However, the 120 km (75 mile) range put most major Soviet targets well out of range and limited even the tactical application of the missile system. While the warhead remained a viable system, the missile was ultimately replaced by systems which allowed for greater range and payload.


The Pluton had a range of 120 km (75 miles) and used an inertial guidance system that had an accuracy of 150 m CEP. It carried a single warhead that could be equipped with either a 15 kT or 25 kT nuclear yield or a high-explosive warhead. It had a launch weight of 2,423 kg and was 7.64 m long with a width of 0.65 m. It used a single-stage solid propellant engine.1

The development of the Pluton system started in the early 1960s. It entered service in 1974, with a Super Pluton design under development. Reports point toward a total of 30 launchers deployed with missiles, reloads and alternative warheads in tow. The Super Pluton project was dropped in 1983 in favor of the Hadès design, which ultimately replaced the Pluton. The Pluton system was gradually phased out of service and was completely retired by 1993.2

Footnote

  1. Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 552; GlobalSecurity.org, “Pluton,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/france/pluton.htm, accessed on 4 June 2008.
  2. “French Quietly Cut Arsenal by 100,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 27 March 1993.

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