According to the German Economic Weekly website on March 27, U.S. President Donald Trump's alienation from the EU has raised a question: How Europe maintains its nuclear deterrence against countries such as Russia in the future. Because so far, Europe's nuclear deterrence has been mainly based on nuclear missiles deployed by the United States.

  German Chancellor candidate Friedrich Mertz refused to equip the Federal Defense Forces with its own nuclear weapons, but he hoped to engage in nuclear sharing negotiations with France and Britain. Only these two countries in Western Europe have such strategic bombs. In other words, Germany should be protected by their nuclear power.

  Germany is particularly considering alliances with France, because Germany has indirectly linked to France's nuclear weapons through the Ariana Rocket Program, which is jointly participated by both sides. The Ariana Group not only produces civilian rockets, but also produces M51 ballistic missiles that can carry French nuclear warheads. France has deployed the missile on its strategic submarines.

  Developing, manufacturing and maintaining nuclear weapons is extremely complex and expensive. Therefore, French President Macron has repeatedly proposed to Germany to share costs in recent years, and in return, Germany will be included in France's nuclear protection umbrella. But the German "traffic light" ruling alliance deliberately ignored this proposal.

  In 2024 alone, France invested 6.6 billion euros in the modernization of nuclear weapons and nuclear forces, invested 5.6 billion euros in 2023 and about 5.3 billion euros in 2022. Last year, those spending accounted for 14% of the defense budget. The latest satellite image from Germany's LiveEO Real-Time Earth Observation Company shows where German taxpayers' money will be invested in the future if Germany accepts the proposal.

  They are all enormous enclosed facilities in which the French government develops and manufactures nuclear warheads. Conventional nuclear power plants provide fission materials, and shipyards build next-generation strategic submarines. Submarine-based missiles are considered to be the core of France's nuclear deterrence.

  In recent years, France has cut its nuclear warhead stocks to 290, of which about 50 are used for aircraft and 240 are used for submarines. If France expands its nuclear umbrella to the entire EU, it will have to expand its arsenal drastically. At the same time, the development of the next generation of warheads has been carried out in relevant facilities. The Military Application Department under the French Atomic Energy Commission is responsible for this matter, which is also responsible for maintaining and demolishing related facilities.

  The development and simulation of military technology were carried out in Bruyer-Le Chatelle. Located 30 kilometers south of Paris, it stands EXA1, one of Europe's most powerful supercomputers. Starting this year, a obviously more powerful machine—the "Jules Verne" supercomputer—will also be installed there. Here, scientists and engineers from the French Atomic Energy Commission simulate and optimize the explosion of nuclear warheads. This virtual doomsday is an extremely complex computing task. About half of the military employees of the French Atomic Energy Commission work here.

  The nuclear warhead was subsequently produced, maintained and stored in the Valdic Center, 30 kilometers north of the southern French city of Dijon, where it was also removed. France and Britain signed a treaty in 2010 to reach an agreement on the formation of a joint expeditionary force and the development of nuclear weapons cooperation. Satellite images show that the French Atomic Energy Commission recently expanded the base and added several new buildings. The treaty regulates cooperation between France and Britain, but so far the two countries have relied heavily on the United States. The move aims to reduce costs in both countries.

  Because the lifespan of nuclear warheads is very limited, they must be maintained and replaced regularly. The unstable isotope tritium is the main explosive of hydrogen bombs and neutron bombs, with a half-life of only more than 12 years. This forced France to restart tritium production to create new bombs. France relies on civilian nuclear power plants to extract tritium.

  At the same time, the new generation of submarines that replaced the Triumph-class nuclear submarine began construction of the first submarine at the Cherbourg submarine shipyard in Normandy last year, and its name is not yet known. Here, the permissions for obtaining high-resolution satellite images are also strictly restricted due to confidentiality. (Translated by Nie Litao)

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]