picture 194179

Designed to replace the Pluton, the Hadès was another inertially guided, short-range tactical ballistic missile. The work on this project began in 1975, with intention of deploying 120 weapons capable of reaching the range of 250km. Due to the end of the Cold War, the project was de-facto cancelled in 1991, when Paris took the decision not to deploy it. By 1993, 15 mobile launchers (illustrated here) and 30 missiles were ready: they were officially introduced to service but kept in storage for three years longer, when decommissioned and destroyed. The Hadès missile was equipped with a single nuclear warhead with a yield of 80kt. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)