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UK and France say any adversary would face the “combined strength” of both nuclear forces after Nuclear Steering Group meeting

The UK-France Nuclear Steering Group met in London and said any adversary threatening the vital interests of either nation should expect to face the combined strength of both forces, the UK government said.

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Photo: UK Ministry of Defence, Crown copyright, from Exercise Rummy (file photo)

Senior British and French officials and military personnel met in London to review progress on nuclear cooperation under the Northwood Declaration, according to a statement issued by the UK government on 10 November. The meeting was the Nuclear Steering Group, which is chaired jointly by the UK Cabinet Office and the Presidency of the French Republic.

The statement says the group discussed the “significant progress” made in deepening coordination between the two countries’ independent nuclear deterrents.

A message to any adversary

According to the statement, the group stressed that any adversary considering a threat to the vital interests of either nation should know it would face the combined strength of both forces. The statement itself describes the two deterrents as independent.

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The group also pointed to the UK’s recent participation in France’s airborne nuclear exercise, Operation Rummy, as a sign of closer operational alignment. Geopolitiki reported on that exercise, in which RAF Typhoons joined a French nuclear air exercise for the first time.

Forward Deterrence and technical cooperation

The participants discussed France’s “Forward Deterrence” initiative. In the statement, the group underlined the “significant value” the initiative provides to European security and to deterrence across the Euro-Atlantic area, and said it further complicates the calculations of potential adversaries in addition to NATO.

On the technical side, the statement says the group built on the 2010 Teutates Treaty and on the joint UK-France testing facility, EPURE. It agreed to expand cooperation on a range of technical capabilities and to begin reciprocal use of each country’s sovereign trials facilities.

Non-proliferation commitments

The two governments also reaffirmed their commitment to uphold and reinforce the international non-proliferation architecture. They said they would keep engaging with the other nuclear-weapon states, in particular through the Non-Proliferation Treaty review cycle and the P5 Process. The statement notes that France took over the chair of the P5 Process from the UK in September 2026.

The statement does not give a date for the next meeting of the group, and it does not describe any new deployments or changes to either country’s nuclear posture.

France Nuclear nuclear deterrence United Kingdom

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