France successfully tests nuclear-capable medium-range missile

France has successfully tested a modernized variant of its nuclear-armed medium-range ASMPA missile, which was fired without payload from a Rafale fighter jet on Wednesday, according to the Defence Ministry in Paris.

French Defence Minister Florence Parly pronounced herself highly satisfied with the testing of the strategic surface-to-air medium-range missile, which was launched as the jet took off from the Cazaux military airbase on France's Atlantic coast.

France's rearmament programme is in line with President Emmanuel Macron's stated aim to "maintain the operational credibility of the armed forces at the level required by the international environment," the ministry said.

Having been successfully tested, the ASMPA missile is to go into production and will then be supplied to the French air force, the nuclear air and naval forces as well as the navy.

The ASMPA missile system, which dates from 2009, is ultimately scheduled to be replaced by a successor system in 2035; the current focus is on modernization of the existing system, however. Since Brexit, France is the only EU country with its own nuclear weapons.