Pluton (missile)

Pluton was the name of a nuclear-capable short -range missile of the French Army in the Cold War.

Development

The development of the pluton began in the early 1960s with Aérospatiale. In 1974 the system was introduced in the army. The army set five Pluton Artillery regiments with a total of 30 starters in service. Overall, it received 120 missiles.

Technology

The system was housed highly mobile and quickly deployable on the terrain AMX -30 tracked vehicle. There was a minimal response time from full speed reached by the rocket launch of less than 20 minutes. Each vehicle was equipped with a Pluton missile.

The Pluton missiles could be equipped with two different warheads:

Tactical classification

The 5 Pluton regiments were stationed in northeastern France. Each regiment had 6 starting vehicles with 24 rockets:

  • 3rd Artillery Regiment in Mailly -le-Camp
  • 4th Artillery Regiment in Laon
  • 15th Artillery Regiment in Suippes
  • 32 Artillery Regiment in Upper Hope
  • 74th Artillery Regiment in Belfort

Status

1993 Pluton short-range missiles were decommissioned and scrapped.

Short-range ballistic missile Solid-fuel rocket AMX-30 Oberhoffen-sur-Moder
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