Global Security Newswire

A user trial of a French submarine-launched ballistic missile was unsuccessful on Sunday, though the reason why will not be clear until after an investigation is conducted, Agence France-Presse reported.

The unarmed M51 SLBM "self-destructed during its first propulsion phase ... for an unknown reason," Atlantic Naval Prefecture spokesman Lt. Commander Lionel Delort said.

"The reasons will be determined by an investigation," he said.

The strategic weapon was launched from the strategic nuclear submarine Vigilant in the Bay of Audierne and had been programmed to splashdown in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Fragments from the destroyed SLBM, which landed some 15 miles from the cost, will be gathered for study, according to Delort.

The M51 can travel up to 5,000 miles. It was inducted into the French navy in 2010 after five test trials were successful.