Rafale and Typhoon on a joint nuclear strike mission: first exercise of France’s Strategic Air Forces with the RAF

France’s Strategic Air Forces (FAS) and the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) carried out their first joint air exercise with a nuclear dimension. The Chief of the French Armed Forces, General Fabien Mandon, called the exercise a milestone for Franco-British cooperation. It was named RUMMY and involved no real nuclear weapons.

Crews of Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon fighters took part, along with A330 MRTT aerial tankers. The aircraft took off from Saint-Dizier air base in north-eastern France, which has a nuclear mission. Mandon said the French and British crews showed a very high level of interoperability and ability to coordinate, and stressed that the nuclear forces of the two countries remain independent.

Typhoons escort Rafales over the Mediterranean

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced on Friday that the joint mission took place on Tuesday. The British aircraft flew together with the Strategic Air Forces over the Mediterranean. The Typhoons escorted the Rafales, which carried out a simulated nuclear strike. “The existence of independent nuclear forces does not rule out coordination,” said Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin. “Through coordination, our nuclear forces show that they can contribute even more to the overall security of the Alliance and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.”

The exercise falls under the Northwood Declaration of July 10, 2025, signed by the French President and the British Prime Minister for closer cooperation and coordination on nuclear matters. Mandon’s post shows three Typhoons taxiing and one Typhoon in a hardened shelter bearing the markings of No. 29 Squadron RAF.

The air component Britain does not have

France and the United Kingdom both operate ballistic missile submarines as their nuclear deterrent. France also has an air component, with Rafales carrying nuclear-armed cruise missiles, something Britain does not have. Paris is working with European allies on the idea of “forward deterrence”, at a time of uncertainty over US security guarantees to Europe. France is also strengthening its presence in the Middle East, as Macron’s visit to Riyadh showed.

“This is a revolution for the Strategic Air Forces, which since their creation in the 1960s have always operated with complete autonomy,” wrote Étienne Marcuz, an analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), on X. In the same week, the United States is accelerating its new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile programme.