France and the United Kingdom, Europe’s two nuclear powers, participated for the first time in joint exercises involving France’s strategic air forces and its airborne nuclear component. French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin said this on X on October 23, UNN reports.
For the first time, British Air Force "Typhoon" fighter jets joined French "Rafale" fighters in exercises organized by the strategic air forces’ airborne nuclear component. This is a decisive milestone in French defense cooperation, demonstrating the coordination and commitment of the two European nuclear powers to European security and credible deterrence
As Le Monde notes, during the "Rummy" exercises, British Typhoon fighter jets, which took part for the first time on Tuesday evening in exercises involving the French airborne nuclear component, escorted Rafale fighters from Saint-Dizier over the Mediterranean to simulate a nuclear strike. No nuclear weapons were used. The exercises were intended to strengthen coordination and operational interoperability between the armed forces of the two countries. "The existence of independent nuclear forces does not preclude coordination," said French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin.
These exercises reportedly embody the rapprochement initiated by the Northwood Declaration in July 2025. Paris and London decided to strengthen coordination between their nuclear forces in the face of the Russian threat, amid the war in Ukraine.
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