RAF Typhoons join French nuclear air exercise for first time
Britain and France announced the first RAF participation in a French nuclear air exercise, with Typhoons escorting Rafale jets during a simulated strike over the Mediterranean.
The UK Ministry of Defence said on 23 October that RAF Typhoon fighters had joined a French nuclear air exercise for the first time, escorting French Rafale jets during a simulated strike mission over the Mediterranean. The exercise, called Operation Rummy, took place on 20–21 October and involved no nuclear weapons, the ministry said.
The French aircraft launched from Saint-Dizier Air Base in France with the RAF fighters as escorts, according to the ministry. Metro reported that the aircraft took off on the evening of 20 October. The operation brought British aircraft into a French nuclear exercise while leaving the simulated strike to the French jets.
How the simulated strike was conducted
The ministry said British and French forces operated over the Mediterranean under safety and security arrangements. Its account describes an escort mission and a simulated strike, rather than the use of nuclear weapons. AFP, reporting through The Straits Times, also said the aircraft flew over the Mediterranean without actual nuclear weapons, attributing those details to the two countries’ defence ministries.
Metro reported that the French government confirmed the drill and described it as the first exercise of its kind. Its account likewise put RAF Typhoons alongside French Rafales in a simulated nuclear strike. The ministry gives 20–21 October as the operation’s dates; reports describing the flying activity focus on 20 October.
What the exercise means for UK–France cooperation
The UK ministry placed Operation Rummy within the programme of cooperation agreed under the Northwood Declaration. It said Britain and France retain sovereign, independent nuclear forces and national decision-making. The exercise therefore shows coordination between their air forces during a French simulation, while each country keeps control of its own nuclear decisions.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the exercise ‘a new chapter’ in the nuclear defence relationship. French armed forces and veterans minister Catherine Vautrin said independent nuclear forces do not exclude coordination. Those descriptions express the governments’ assessment of the exercise’s significance, rather than an announced change to either country’s nuclear command arrangements.
The UK ministry also linked the exercise to the refreshed Lancaster House Agreement, which it said expands the countries’ joint deployable force, nuclear cooperation and work on future weapons. Separately, it said Britain would buy 12 F-35A aircraft and join NATO’s nuclear mission. The ministry did not give a timetable for those steps in its account of Operation Rummy.
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Sources and context
- UK-France deepen nuclear defence ties in first joint exerciseUK Ministry of Defence
- Britain and France carry out first ever joint nuclear drills in 'decisive milestMetro
- France, Britain stage first joint nuclear air strike simulationAgence France-Presse (AFP), republished by The Straits Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.