Britain and France‘s air forces have united to carry out a simulated nuclear strike in the first drill of its kind, it has been announced.
The war game involved RAF Typhoon warplanes working alongside French Rafale fighter jets over the Mediterranean on Tuesday evening.
News of the exercise, codenamed ‘Rummy’, was revealed on Friday by Catherine Vautrin, the French armed forces minister.
The drill makes no reference to who the fictional enemy was.
However, it is being seen as a major warning shot to Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, after months of sabre-rattling by Kremlin officials who have threatened the use of nuclear weapons against Western countries supporting Ukraine.
‘Having independent nuclear forces does not preclude coordination,’ Ms Vautrin said, adding: ‘Our nuclear cooperation with the United Kingdom continues to deepen.’
The test was conducted in compliance with security procedures and did not involve any actual nuclear weapons, a statement by the French armed forces said.
It added it was aimed at tightening the coordination between western Europe’s two nuclear powers.
Britain and France have united to carry out a simulated nuclear strike in the first drill of its kind
Pictured: An RAF Typhoon, bottom, and French Rafale fighter jet taking part in the drill
After taking off from the Saint-Dizier air base in northeastern France, the French jets were escorted by British Typhoons before simulating a nuclear strike, France’s Armed Forces ministry said.
‘In an increasingly dangerous world, our adversaries should be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and France stand together in their commitment to European security and to maintaining the deterrence that has helped preserve peace for generations,’ Wes Streeting, Britain’s Defence Secretary, added.
France and Britain represent the two remaining nuclear powers in Europe outside of Russia, after Ukraine surrendered its weapons in 1994 in return for security assurances from the US, UK and Russia.
France spends roughly €5.6billion (£4.69billion) a year to maintain its stockpile of 290 submarine- and air-launched doomsday weapons — the world’s fourth-largest arsenal.
Britain has 225 nuclear warheads, which can be launched from its four Vanguard-class submarines.
In comparison, both Russia and the United States are believed to more than 5,000 nuclear weapons each.
Last summer France and the UK agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective atomic arsenals in response to growing threats to Europe.
The move is a significant change from traditional nuclear relations by Paris, which has not declared its weapons to Nato while the UK has.
Pictured: British and French fighter jets together in the nuclear drill this week
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, later went further, announcing in March that Paris would expand its nuclear arsenal and launched an initiative offering European partners joint exercises and possible short-term deployment of French nuclear-capable assets on their territory.
The UK, meanwhile, has committed to buying up to 12 new F-35A stealth jets capable of dropping nuclear weapons.
The shift comes amid growing uncertainty over Europe’s main ally, the US, following recent comments by Donald Trump, the US President, who has been scathing of the Nato alliance and European militaries.
President Trump also appears to be seeking closer relations with Russia, having recently signed a deal with Putin for 300,000 tons of diesel, deepening concerns further on the continent.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, said he felt betrayed by Mr Trump, and warned the US president was not acting on the ‘right side of history’.
‘It is a pity that we are losing a strong partner,’ the Ukrainian leader said last week amid an escalating public spat with his American counterpart.
In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, Mr Zelensky suggested Mr Trump’s diesel deal with Putin was an ‘attempt to push Ukraine to capitulation’ and give up the Donbas region, a concession which the Russian leader has demanded before he will consider ending his war.
Asked whether he felt ‘betrayed’ by recent events, Mr Zelensky said: ‘Really, yes, between us. But it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings.
‘Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump. They wanted us not to attack. My opinion was, it is not fair.’
Russia this week began supplying the US with its first shipment of diesel to the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
The first shipment, believed to be carrying about 40,000 tons of fuel, is expected to arrive in New York on November 7.
