The Rummy exercise took place on the evening of Tuesday, 20 October, with Rafales leaving Saint-Dizier in Haute-Marne and escorted by Royal Air Force Typhoons.
France's ministry said the scenario simulated a nuclear strike, and the exercise involved no nuclear weapons, according to both defence ministries.
France and the United Kingdom signed the Northwood agreement on 10 July 2025, which the sources describe as the operational basis for their nuclear cooperation.
France spends about 5.6 billion euros a year on about 290 warheads, while the United Kingdom holds 225 warheads, against more than 5,000 each for Russia and the United States.
France and the United Kingdom announced on Friday, 23 October, that they had carried out their first joint nuclear exercise, codenamed 'Rummy', over the Mediterranean Sea. The drill was held on the evening of Tuesday, 20 October. Rafale fighters took off from the Saint-Dizier air base in Haute-Marne, in northeastern France, and were escorted by Typhoon jets of the Royal Air Force. According to the defence ministries of both countries, the French jets simulated a nuclear strike, but no nuclear weapons were used. The exercise was carried out under the usual safety rules, and its stated aim was to improve cooperation between the two European nuclear powers. It was the first time British Typhoons took part in an exercise of the French airborne nuclear component.
The French ministry said British crews and capabilities operated alongside France's Strategic Air Forces over the Mediterranean. The exercise aimed to strengthen coordination and interoperability between British and French personnel and to deepen mutual understanding. Both ministries framed the drill as a demonstration of growing cooperation between the two countries that hold Western Europe's nuclear weapons. The sources describe the scenario as a simulated nuclear strike, with the Rafales escorted by the Typhoons throughout the flight.
France and the United Kingdom agreed in July 2025 to deepen cooperation on their nuclear arsenals, a decision linked in the sources to growing threats to Europe and uncertainty about US policy on the security of the continent. The Northwood agreement, signed on 10 July 2025, forms the operational basis of the cooperation and sets out strategic and doctrinal coordination while each country keeps full sovereignty over its own command, according to BFMTV. In March 2026 President Emmanuel Macron said France would expand its nuclear potential. On 2 March 2026 he presented an 'advanced nuclear deterrence' initiative from the Ile Longue submarine base near Brest. Under it, European partners would get joint exercises and the possibility of short-term deployment of French nuclear-capable assets on their territory, and about ten European countries have joined or expressed interest, per BFMTV.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin wrote on X that the Typhoons had joined the Rafales for the first time, calling the exercise a 'decisive milestone' in defence cooperation. In remarks reported by The Independent, she said:
“Having independent nuclear forces does not preclude coordination.”
She added that nuclear cooperation with the United Kingdom continues to deepen. UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the exercise marked a new chapter in the two countries' relationship on nuclear defence. He said the two countries wanted to send a clear signal to potential adversaries that they remain united in their commitment to European security.
France spends about 5.6 billion euros a year to maintain its arsenal of about 290 warheads, carried by submarines and aircraft. The United Kingdom holds 225 nuclear warheads. Russia and the United States each have more than 5,000. The figures place France's stockpile well below those of the two largest nuclear powers, while the French and British totals are the ones the sources set side by side.
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Rafale jets took off from the Saint-Dizier air base, escorted by RAF Typhoons, and simulated a nuclear strike with no nuclear weapons used.
AI text based on reports by rmf24.pl, N-tv, HotNews.ro and other publishers. Published .