TN 81

The French airborne nuclear warheads (TN81) is a thermonuclear warhead carried by the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) medium-range air-to-surface missile, a component of the Force de frappe French nuclear deterrent. The warhead was introduced in 1988. By 1991, 80 warheads had been produced.^[1]

Deployment: 60 warheads carried by the ASMP equipping the 60 Mirage 2000 N with the French Air Force and 20 Super Etendard of Naval Aviation. Each TN81 has a declared destructive power of 300 kilotonnes. This amounts to over 20 times the power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and caused some 250 000 deaths then or in the aftermath.

It has been replaced by 54 Aiborne Nuclear Warhead (TNA) thermonuclear warhead carried by the ASMPA equipping the Mirage 2000 N and Dassault Rafale.^[2]

Specifications:

References

↑ Norris, Robert S.; Arkin, William M.; Kristensen, Hans M.; Handler, Joshua (1 July 2001). "French Nuclear Forces, 2001". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 24 June 2015 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
↑ "Latest Vintage from Champagne: New Rafale jets now carrying new ASMP-A missiles and new TNA nuclear warheads!" (PDF). 1 July 2001. Retrieved 24 January 2016.

French nuclear armament

Strategic missiles	missile M1 missile M2 missile M20 missile S1 missile S2 missile S3 missile M4 missile M45 missile M5 missile M51

Pre-strategic missiles	Pluton Hadès ASMP

Nuclear warheads	AN-11 bomb AN-22 bomb AN-52 bomb MR 31 MR 41 MR 50 CTC AN 51 CTC AN 52 CTC TN 60 TN 61 TN 70 TN 71 TN 75 TN 76 TN 80 TN 81 TN 90 TNA TNO

Related subjects	French nuclear deterrence FAS FOST France and weapons of mass destruction

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