M51 BALLISTIC MISSILE: SUCCESS OF THE FIRST "CETACE-JONAS" SYSTEM TRIAL

december 10th, 2003 : EADS SPACE Transportation has participated successfully in the first JONAS trial launch, an instrumented model of the future M51 missile fired from the submerged CETACE hull.

This trial took place in Toulon harbour on 27 November 2003, on the Canier site belonging to the Délégation Générale pour l’Armement (DGA). The (full size) instrumented and recoverable JONAS prototype, of more than 10 metres in height for about 50 tons, was fired from a submerged hull known as CETACE Méditerranée, representative of a submarine's stowage and launching tube. It reached a height of almost 20 metres before falling back into the sea, from which it was recovered as expected.

The success of this initial trial has been possible as a result of close collaboration between representatives of the government departments and contractors participating in the programme. The JONAS system, designed and manufactured by EADS SPACE Transportation, forms, together with the CETACE Méditerranée, a key element in the development and set-up logic for the future M51 missile, and the means for stowing it on and launching it from the submarine.

The series of tests will allow to validate the critical submarine launch phase for the future missile, in particular satisfactory resistance of the M51 to hydrodynamic effects which can influence its submarine trajectory, the resistance of the rear engine assembly to the effects of ejection, and validation of the missile's interfaces with the submarine.

EADS SPACE Transportation is the only industrial company in Europe capable of designing, developing and producing ballistic missiles. It enjoys a body of knowledge that is unique in Europe, using the experience that it has accumulated over a period of almost 40 years, while setting up five generations of intercontinental missiles. EADS-ST is, on behalf of DGA, the industrial project manager for the M51 missile, which will enter service at the end of the decade.

EADS SPACE Transportation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, is the European space transportation and orbital infrastructures specialist. It designs, develops and produces Ariane launchers, the Columbus laboratory and the ATV cargo vessel for the International Space Station, atmospheric reentry vehicles, missiles for France’s nuclear deterrent force, propulsion systems and space equipment.