1986–88 French nuclear tests

1986–1988
Information
Country	France
Test site	Lagoon Area 2, Fangataufa Atoll; Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll; Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll
Period	1986–1988
Number of tests	24
Test type	underground shaft
Max. yield	103 kilotonnes of TNT (430 TJ)
Test series chronology

The 1986–1988 French nuclear tests[1] were a group of 24 nuclear tests conducted between 1986 and 1988. These tests followed the 1983–85 French nuclear tests series and preceded the 1989–91 French nuclear tests series.

France's 1986-1988 series tests and detonations
Name [note 1]	Date time (UT)	Local time zone [note 2][2]	Location [note 3]	Elevation + height [note 4]	Delivery, [note 5] Purpose [note 6]	Yield [note 8]	References
Hyllos	26 April 1986 17:02:00.7	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll: Therese3 21.87593°S 138.85063°W / -21.87593; -138.85063 (Hyllos)	5 m (16 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Céto	6 May 1986 16:58:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll: Fuschia5 21.872185°S 138.9293°W / -21.872185; -138.9293 (Céto)	5 m (16 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Sthénélos	27 May 1986 17:15:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll: Ursula1 21.87027°S 138.88091°W / -21.87027; -138.88091 (Sthénélos)	5 m (16 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Galatée	30 May 1986 17:25:00.1	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Hippocampe2 ~ 21.86742°S 138.95046°W / -21.86742; -138.95046 (Galatée)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	30 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Hésione	10 November 1986 16:58:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll: Yvonne4 21.86664°S 138.91395°W / -21.86664; -138.91395 (Hésione)	5 m (16 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Nauplios	12 November 1986 17:02:00.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Hippocampe3 ~ 21.86427°S 138.95046°W / -21.86427; -138.95046 (Nauplios)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	20 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Pénéléos	6 December 1986 17:10:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Rim zone, Areas 1-2, Moruroa Atoll: Fuschia6 21.871°S 138.92852°W / -21.871; -138.92852 (Pénéléos)	5 m (16 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Circé	10 December 1986 17:15:00.2	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Labre2 ~ 21.84944°S 138.91277°W / -21.84944; -138.91277 (Circé)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	32 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Jocaste	5 May 1987 16:58:01.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Requin4 ~ 21.84369°S 138.846°W / -21.84369; -138.846 (Jocaste)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Lycomède	20 May 1987 17:05:00.1	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Isurus2 ~ 21.86193°S 138.94008°W / -21.86193; -138.94008 (Lycomède)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	30 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Dircé	6 June 1987 18:00:00.7	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Pieurve3 ~ 21.8389°S 138.87541°W / -21.8389; -138.87541 (Dircé)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Iphpitos	21 June 1987 17:55:00.1	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Krill5 ~ 21.84702°S 138.92235°W / -21.84702; -138.92235 (Iphpitos)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	20 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Hélénos	23 October 1987 16:50:00.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Krill6 ~ 21.84338°S 138.92235°W / -21.84338; -138.92235 (Hélénos)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	51 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Pasiphaé	5 November 1987 17:30:00.4	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Murene2 ~ 21.84917°S 138.90334°W / -21.84917; -138.90334 (Pasiphaé)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	18 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Pelée	19 November 1987 16:31:00.2	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Hippocampe4 ~ 21.86158°S 138.95046°W / -21.86158; -138.95046 (Pelée)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	62 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Danaé	29 November 1987 17:59:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Requin6 ~ 21.8°S 138.9°W / -21.8; -138.9 (Danaé)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Nelée	11 May 1988 17:00:00.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Hippocampe5 ~ 21.85854°S 138.95046°W / -21.85854; -138.95046 (Nelée)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	20 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Niobé	25 May 1988 17:01:00.1	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Flet1 21.86894°S 138.96794°W / -21.86894; -138.96794 (Niobé)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	80 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Antigone	16 June 1988 17:15:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Nerite4 ~ 21.84857°S 138.89405°W / -21.84857; -138.89405 (Antigone)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	5 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Dejanire	23 June 1988 17:31:00.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Krill4 ~ 21.85138°S 138.92235°W / -21.85138; -138.92235 (Dejanire)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	20 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Acrisios	25 October 1988 17:00:00	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll: Pieuvre4 ~ 21.83464°S 138.87541°W / -21.83464; -138.87541 (Acrisios)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	2 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Thrasymèdes	5 November 1988 16:30:00.4	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll ~ 21.87436°S 138.97854°W / -21.87436; -138.97854 (Thrasymèdes)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	47 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Phéres	23 November 1988 17:01:00.3	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon, Areas 5-7, Moruroa Atoll ~ 21.87436°S 138.968°W / -21.87436; -138.968 (Phéres)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	45 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]
Cycnos	30 November 1988 17:55:00.0	TAHT (-10 hrs)	Lagoon Area 2, Fangataufa Atoll 22.233°S 138.74°W / -22.233; -138.74 (Cycnos)	0 +	underground shaft, weapons development	103 kt	[1][3][4][5][6]

The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

References

Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000). CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3) (Technical report). SMDC Monitoring Research.
"Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
Capcom Espace (2005). "Les essais nucleaire Francaispublisher=Capcom Espace". Retrieved December 20, 2013.
La Dimension Radiologique des Essais Nucleaires Francais en Polynesie (PDF) (Technical report). Ministry of Defense. March 1, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-09. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
"The Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa, Main Report" (PDF). Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency. 1998. Retrieved December 19, 2013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Norris, Robert S.; Burrows, Andrew S.; Fieldhouse, Richard W. (1994). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. 5: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

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[2] The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.

[3] To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.

[5] Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.

[6] Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.

[7] Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.

[8] Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.

[9] Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.

[10] Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).

[11] Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

[LT_1-1] Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000). CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3) (Technical report). SMDC Monitoring Research.

[4] "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved March 8, 2014.

[LT_53-12] Capcom Espace (2005). "Les essais nucleaire Francaispublisher=Capcom Espace". Retrieved December 20, 2013.

[LT_32-13] La Dimension Radiologique des Essais Nucleaires Francais en Polynesie (PDF) (Technical report). Ministry of Defense. March 1, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-09. Retrieved December 19, 2013.

[LT_20-14] "The Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa, Main Report" (PDF). Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency. 1998. Retrieved December 19, 2013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[LT_14-15] Norris, Robert S.; Burrows, Andrew S.; Fieldhouse, Richard W. (1994). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. 5: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.