By Harold Hutchison Oct. 13, 02:10 PM
When it comes to missiles, France’s anti-ship Exocet is one of the most notorious. And this is for good reason.
The Falklands War put this ship-killer on the map after it sank the destroyer HMS Sheffield and the Atlantic Conveyor. In 1987, the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Stark (FFG 31) survived two Exocet hits from an Iraqi plane.
But while the Exocet is easily France’s most recognizable missile, it is not the most deadly. That honor belongs to a missile known as the M51, which is carried aboard the four Le Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines serving in the French Navy.
According to Deagel.com, the M51 has a range of at least 6,000 kilometers and can carry up to 14 TN-75 warheads — although the usual loadout for the M51 is six warheads in multiple independently-targeted re-entry vehicles, or MIRVs, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The fireball would wipe out the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, while the blast wave would destroy the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. Cedars Sinai Medical Center, one of the most well-known hospitals in the country, would be seriously damaged. That’s just from one warhead. The other five would likely impact other parts of Los Angeles.
http://www.wearethemighty.com/gear-tech/this-is-the-french-missile-that-can-wipe-out-a-city