M2 (missile)

The M2 MSBS was the second French submarine-launched ballistic missile. In French, MSBS is the abbreviation for Mer-Sol Balistique Stratégique, or sea-ground strategic ballistic missile, and the M2 had two stages. It was deployed on the Redoutable-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, the SNLE or Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins of the French Navy, from 1974 to 1978, replacing the M1. The M2 was itself replaced by the M20 beginning in 1977. It sits in the middle of the early chain of MSBS missiles that carried the sea-based part of the French nuclear deterrent before the M4 and M45 brought longer range.