S3 (missile)

S3
S3 missile on display at Musée de l'air et de l'espace
TypeIRBM
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1980-1996
Used byFrench Air Force
Production history
ManufacturerAérospatiale
Specifications
Mass25,800 kg (56,900 lb)
Length13.8 m (45 ft)
Diameter1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
WarheadTN 61 warhead, 1.2 megatonnes

EngineTwo-stage Solid-fuel rocket
534 kN (120,000 lbf)
Propellant23,000 kg (51,000 lb) solid fuel
Operational
range
3,500 km (2,200 mi)
Guidance
system
Inertial
Launch
platform
Missile silo, Plateau d'Albion

The S3 was a French land-based intermediate-range ballistic missile, equipped with a single 1.2-megatonne thermonuclear warhead. In France it is called an SSBS, for Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique, or Ground-Ground Strategic Ballistic Missile.