TN 81
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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It has been replaced by 54 TNA (Airborne nuclear warhead) thermonuclear warhead carried by the ASMPA equipping the Mirage 2000 N and Dassault Rafale.[2]
Specifications:
- thermonuclear weapon
- yield from 100 to 300 kiloton
- insensitive explosives
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.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (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.
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