Napoleon Would Be Jealous: These 5 Weapons Ensure France's Military Might In Europe

Kyle Mizokami

Security, Europe

Less than a superpower, but not to be overlooked.

Key point: America is fortunate for allies like France.

The modern French armed forces are in many ways similar in structure to the U.S. military. More so than most European countries, the French military is structured to confront a vast continuum of conflict, ranging from guerrilla to nuclear warfare. Like the United States, France structures its forces for both expeditionary warfare and the homeland defense mission.

The French military maintains a high-end force of tanks, armored vehicles and modern jet fighters for high intensity conflict and a low-end of light infantry, special forces and light armored vehicles for the lower end of the spectrum. Heavy armored forces help France fulfill its European defense mission, while France’s commitments to its present and former colonies in Africa, South America, French Polynesia and the Middle East demand light forces capable of rapid overseas deployment.

France also has nuclear weapons, a legacy of French President Charles DeGaulle’s desire for a country that was militarily self-reliant. France was the fourth country to attain  nuclear weapons capability, and during the Cold War maintained its own triad of land, air, and sea-based nukes.

Here is a sampling of France’s five best weapons systems ranging from fourth-generation fighters to ballistic missile submarines capable of delivering armageddon across an entire continent.

Dassault Rafale (“Squall”):

The Dassault Rafale was conceived in the early 1980s as a multi-role fighter to replace nearly all legacy French fighter and attack aircraft. Rafale is almost completely indigenous with the fuselage, avionics, engines and weapons all made in France.