S3 (missile)

The S3 was a French land-based intermediate-range ballistic missile, known in French as an SSBS (Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique, or ground-ground strategic ballistic missile). It was a two-stage, solid-propellant missile whose first stage was inherited from the S2, with a P16 solid fuel engine and four exhausts, and it carried a single 1.2 megatonne thermonuclear warhead that was hardened and fitted with penetration aids. The first stage carried 16,940 kilograms of fuel and burned for 72 seconds, and the second stage carried 6,015 kilograms and burned for 58 seconds. A programme begun in 1973 and completed in 1980 produced the missile for the Apt-Saint-Christol air base, where it entered service in 1982. Forty missiles were built, 13 of them used on trials, and the 18 silos were deactivated in September 1996 and later dismantled.