UK-France Nuclear Exercise: RAF Typhoons Escort Rafales

Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighters have for the first time taken part in a French nuclear strike exercise, escorting Rafale B fighters of the Strategic Air Forces on a simulated nuclear mission over the Mediterranean on the night of October 20. The British Ministry of Defence and French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced the exercise, codenamed Rummy, on October 23. The Rafales launched from Saint-Dizier Air Base in northeastern France, and London stated that no nuclear weapons were involved. Neither government disclosed how many aircraft took part, although French photographs showed at least three Typhoons at Saint-Dizier, one in No. 29 Squadron markings, according to Defense News. The drill is the most significant practical step yet towards coordinating the only two nuclear arsenals in Western Europe.

Rummy was held under the Northwood Declaration, signed by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer on July 10, 2025, under which both countries coordinate their deterrents while keeping sovereign control over their use. Vautrin stated: “Having independent nuclear forces does not exclude coordination.” British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the exercise “marks a new chapter in the defence nuclear relationship between the United Kingdom and France.” The strike package came from the 4th Fighter Wing and was supported by A330 MRTT Phénix tankers, the French outlet Opex360 reported. The Aviationist noted that the Rafales were pictured with an ASMP-series missile on the centreline pylon, with the Typhoons flying the defensive counter-air escort. Rummy also coincided with NATO’s annual Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise, which this year was being held over Italy.

The exercise follows a similar step with Germany on July 16, when Rafales and German Eurofighters refuelled together from an A330 MRTT before landing at Nörvenich Air Base. The RAF has had no nuclear weapon of its own since the WE.177 free-fall bomb was withdrawn in 1998, and the Typhoon, unlike the Tornado it replaced, cannot carry one, leaving the British deterrent resting on submarines at a time when the Royal Navy is short of the anti-submarine frigates that protect them. London has pledged £63 billion over four years for its deterrent and plans to buy 12 F-35A fighters for NATO’s nuclear sharing mission, from the program for which Washington has agreed a framework for 850 jets.

The Dassault Rafale delivers the airborne half of the French deterrent with the ASMPA-R supersonic cruise missile, which entered service in 2023 and carries a 300 kiloton warhead. It is a renovated derivative of the ASMP-A, in service since 2009, whose range is widely put at around 500 kilometres. Its hypersonic successor, the ASN4G, is required to reach at least 1,000 kilometres and is expected to enter service around 2035. France holds around 290 warheads and the United Kingdom an estimated 225, according to figures cited by Forces News. Britain’s Typhoons, most recently deployed to Saudi Arabia against Ansurullah missiles and drones, flew Rummy purely as escorts, with the four Vanguard class submarines and their Trident II D5 missiles remaining the country’s only nuclear delivery system.