By TOM COTTERILL, DEPUTY DEFENCE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
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 drill involved RAF Typhoon warplanes working alongside French Rafale fighter jets over the Mediterranean on Tuesday evening.
News of the war game, 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 drill 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 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,' added Wes Streeting, Britain's Defence Secretary.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said 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.
France spends roughly €5.6billion (£4.69billion) a year to maintain its stockpile of 290 submarine- and air-launched weapons — the world's fourth-largest arsenal.
Britain has 225 nuclear warheads.
In comparison, Russia and the United States have more than 5,000 each.
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