French Wildfires Threaten Nuclear Deterrence Sites and Rafale Assembly
Massive wildfires raging west of Bordeaux, France, are threatening key defense-industrial sites, including an ArianeGroup facility producing propulsion components for the M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile, Dassault Aviation's Rafale fighter jet final assembly line, and a Roxel solid rocket motor plant. Dassault evacuated sensitive equipment from its Martignas wing assembly plant to Mérignac and Air Base 106, with most workers staying home. ArianeGroup evacuated its affected sites, and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) closed its military nuclear research site. Over 100,000 acres have burned, an area four times the size of Paris. France deployed an A400M aircraft to assist firefighting. Satellite data showed active fires less than 9 km from Dassault's Martignas site and 12 km from ArianeGroup's Candale site. Authorities warn that a new heatwave and drought conditions could reignite fire activity. The fires are described as an environmental and humanitarian disaster threatening vital strategic assets for France's nuclear deterrent.
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