eualive.netFrance and Britain conducted first-ever joint nuclear exerciseThe air forces of France and the United Kingdom have conducted their first joint nuclear exercise, marking a new stage in the strategic rapprochement of Europe’s only two nuclear-armed states.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced the drill on social media. “For the first time, Typhoon fighters from the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom joined Rafale fighters from the French Air and Space Force to take part in an exercise organized by the strategic air forces of the nuclear aviation component,” she wrote. “This is a decisive stage in the defence cooperation between France and the United Kingdom, demonstrating the coordination and commitment of the two European nuclear states to the security of Europe and reliable deterrence.”
Pour la première fois, les Typhoon de la @RoyalAirForce ont rejoint les Rafale de @Armee_de_lair pour participer à un exercice organisé par les forces aériennes stratégiques de la composante nucléaire aéroportée. Un jalon décisif de la coopération de défense 🇫🇷🇬🇧, démontrant la… pic.twitter.com/1UHdyBdK60
— Catherine Vautrin (@CaVautrin) October 23, 2026
According to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, the exercise – codenamed ‘Rummy’ – took place on the evening of 21 October. French Rafale jets took off from the Saint-Dizier air base in northeastern France and were escorted by British RAF Typhoon fighters. The aircraft simulated a nuclear strike over the Mediterranean. No nuclear weapons were carried or used; the activity was a training simulation only.
British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting stated: “In an increasingly dangerous world, our adversaries should be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and France stand together in their commitment to European security and to maintaining the deterrence that has helped preserve peace for generations.”
The exercise rests on the operational framework of the Northwood Declaration, signed on 10 July 2025, by French President Emmanuel Macron and then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The declaration provides for strategic and doctrinal coordination between the two countries’ independent nuclear forces while fully preserving the sovereignty and sole command authority of each nation. It affirms that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response from both countries.
This development also aligns with a broader French nuclear concept presented by Macron in March 2026, aimed at strengthening the European dimension of French nuclear deterrence amid evolving strategic threats. The initiative is based on the principle of expanding cooperation with European partners without questioning national sovereignty. Roughly ten European countries – including Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland – have joined or expressed interest. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has previously stressed that any potential European “nuclear umbrella” should complement, rather than replace, the existing U.S. nuclear shield.
France maintains an arsenal of approximately 290 nuclear warheads (primarily submarine- and air-launched), the world’s fourth-largest, at an annual cost of roughly €5.6 billion. The United Kingdom possesses around 225 warheads. Both arsenals remain far smaller than those of the United States and Russia (each exceeding 5,000). The joint exercise occurs against a backdrop of ongoing tensions with Russia and broader European concerns about the reliability of U.S. security commitments.
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This article draws on reporting by EUalive’s partner European Pravda .
Caption: Photo shared on X by French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin .