Paris and London held the exercise codenamed Rummy over the Mediterranean Sea on 20–21 October. During the drill, British Eurofighter Typhoon fighters escorted French Rafale jets for the first time in a training mission that practiced a scenario for the use of nuclear weapons.
French Rafales took off from Saint-Dizier Air Base in northeastern France — the main base for the airborne component of France’s nuclear deterrent forces. British Typhoons provided escort during the simulated nuclear strike. The exercise was conducted without any real nuclear weapons and under strict safety measures.
This was the first time Royal Air Force aircraft participated in a French nuclear exercise of the airborne component. The maneuver marked a practical step toward deepening nuclear cooperation between the two countries under the Northwood Declaration, signed in July 2025. Under the declaration, both countries retain sovereign and independent nuclear forces and national decision-making authority, while agreeing to strengthen coordination amid growing threats to Europe.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said: “Having independent nuclear forces does not preclude coordination. Our nuclear cooperation with the United Kingdom continues to deepen: on Tuesday evening, British Typhoons took part for the first time in a French nuclear exercise alongside Rafales.”
British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the exercise a “new chapter” in the two countries’ nuclear defence cooperation and a signal of readiness to stand shoulder to shoulder on European security and deterrence.
France and the United Kingdom remain the only European nuclear powers. The Rummy exercise took place against the backdrop of tensions with Russia and efforts to strengthen the European component of deterrence.
