France, UK carry out joint airborne nuclear-strike exercise for first time

PARIS — France and the United Kingdom carried out a joint airborne nuclear strike exercise for the first time, with Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the Royal Air Force escorting French Rafale jets on a simulated nuclear-strike mission.

The French and British fighter jets flew a joint mission on Tuesday during the exercise Rummy, the French Armed Forces Ministry said in a statement on Friday, calling the drill a show of growing cooperation in the framework of an agreement last year for closer nuclear cooperation and coordination between the two countries.

France is working with several European allies on a concept of “forward deterrence” amid uncertainty around United States security guarantees for Europe in the face of an aggressive Russia. While both France and the U.K. operate strategic ballistic-missile submarines as a nuclear deterrent, France has an airborne component, which the U.K. lacks, in the shape of Rafale jets carrying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

“Having independent nuclear forces doesn’t exclude coordination,” French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said. “By coordinating, our nuclear forces demonstrate that they can contribute even more significantly to the overall security of the alliance and the peace and stability of the Euro-Atlantic zone.”

The British aircraft operated alongside those of France’s Strategic Air Forces over the Mediterranean, with Typhoons escorting Rafale fighters, according to the ministry. While the Rafale jets performed a simulated nuclear strike, the exercise didn’t involve any actual nuclear weapons, the ministry said.

In addition to Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale jets, the exercise included A330 MRTT tanker aircraft, French Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Fabien Mandon said in a post on the social network X. The French and British crews took off from Saint-Dizier air base in northeastern France, and showed a “very high level of interoperability and a capability to coordinate,” he said.

Mandon’s post included a picture showing three taxiing Eurofighters, as well as a Eurofighter under a hard cover with the markings of the RAF 29 Squadron.

“This is a revolution for the Strategic Air Forces, which have always operated in complete autonomy since their creation in the 1960s,” said Etienne Marcuz, a senior analyst at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, in a post on X. He called the involvement of at least three British Eurofighter aircraft “quite significant.”

The exercise was an important step in the implementation of the Northwood Declaration , showing a determination to deter common threats together, the ministry said. France and the U.K. last year agreed to deepen nuclear cooperation and coordination, stating in the declaration that they agreed there was no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by both nations.

The exercise Rummy took place on Oct. 20 and 21, according to the ministry. France’s Air and Space Force regularly holds simulated nuclear-strike exercises called Poker.

The U.K. and France maintain sovereign and independent nuclear forces, and decision-making regarding their use isn’t shared, the ministry said. The countries would only consider using nuclear weapons in “extreme circumstances of legitimate defense,” the French ministry said.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国和英国首次举行联合空中核打击演习，英国皇家空军的欧洲战斗机“台风”护送法国“阵风”战斗机执行模拟核打击任务。

法国国防部周五发表声明称，法国和英国的战斗机周二在“拉米”演习期间执行了联合任务，并称此次演习展示了两国在去年签署的加强核合作与协调协议框架下日益增长的合作。

面对咄咄逼人的俄罗斯，美国对欧洲的安全保障存在不确定性，法国正与几个欧洲盟友合作，推进“前沿威慑”概念。虽然法国和英国都拥有战略弹道导弹潜艇作为核威慑力量，但法国还拥有英国所缺乏的空中威慑力量——携带核弹头巡航导弹的“阵风”战斗机。

法国国防部长凯瑟琳·沃特兰表示：“拥有独立的核力量并不排除协调。通过协调，我们的核力量表明，它们能够为联盟的整体安全以及欧洲-大西洋地区的和平与稳定做出更大贡献。”

据英国国防部称，英国战机与法国战略空军战机在地中海上空协同作战，台风战斗机为阵风战斗机护航。国防部还表示，虽然阵风战斗机进行了模拟核打击演习，但此次演习并未涉及任何实际核武器。

法国武装部队总参谋长法比安·曼东将军在社交网络X上发帖称，除了欧洲战斗机“台风”和“阵风”之外，此次演习还包括A330 MRTT加油机。他表示，法国和英国的机组人员从法国东北部的圣迪济耶空军基地起飞，展现了“非常高的互操作性和协调能力”。

曼顿的帖子中包含一张照片，照片显示三架正在滑行的欧洲战斗机，以及一架被硬质机罩覆盖的欧洲战斗机，机身上印有英国皇家空军第 29 中队的标志。

“对于自 20 世纪 60 年代成立以来一直完全自主运作的战略空军来说，这是一场革命，”战略研究基金会高级分析师艾蒂安·马尔库兹在 X 网站上发表的一篇文章中写道。他称至少三架英国台风战斗机的参与“意义重大”。

法国国防部表示，此次演习是落实《诺斯伍德宣言》的重要一步，展现了双方共同遏制共同威胁的决心。法国和英国去年同意深化核合作与协调，并在宣言中指出，双方一致认为，不存在任何对欧洲的极端威胁，两国都将予以应对。

据国防部消息，代号为“拉米牌”（Rummy）的演习于10月20日至21日举行。法国空军和太空部队定期举行名为“扑克”（Poker）的模拟核打击演习。

法国国防部表示，英国和法国各自拥有独立自主的核力量，两国在核武器使用方面并不共享决策权。法国国防部还表示，两国只会考虑在“正当防卫的极端情况下”使用核武器。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。