Breaking News: France and UK reaffirm strong bilateral commitment to nuclear military cooperation.

According to information published by the British Government on July 10, 2025, the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, have jointly reaffirmed their enduring commitment to military nuclear cooperation, marking a decisive evolution in the strategic partnership between Europe’s two foremost nuclear powers. This renewed declaration underscores the critical role of their bilateral military nuclear collaboration in deterring the most severe threats to national and allied security.
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France and the United Kingdom reinforce their military nuclear alliance with the launch of a new bilateral steering group aimed at strengthening strategic coordination and deterrence capabilities across air and sea domains. (Picture source: Army Recognition Editing)

France and the United Kingdom emphasized that their nuclear forces, while fully independent, are capable of close coordination and contribute significantly to NATO’s overall deterrence posture. They acknowledged that no extreme threat to the security of either nation could arise without impacting the vital interests of the other, reinforcing a shared doctrine of mutual deterrence that deepens their longstanding military alliance.

To operationalize this strategic alignment, the two governments announced the creation of a UK-France Nuclear Steering Group. Led by the French Presidency and the UK Cabinet Office, this new body will provide political guidance and coordinate cooperation in military nuclear policy, capabilities, and operations. It represents a critical step forward in aligning their military nuclear efforts across strategic planning, threat assessment, and the maintenance of credible, modernized deterrent forces.

This initiative builds on a track record of successful collaboration since 2010, including the joint Teutates program for radiographic testing of nuclear warhead components, and cooperative work on nuclear safety, research, and infrastructure. The establishment of the steering group signals a move toward deeper integration in operational and strategic dimensions of military nuclear policy, ensuring both nations remain at the forefront of credible and responsible nuclear deterrence.

The importance of this military nuclear cooperation extends far beyond bilateral defense. France and the UK are the only two nuclear-armed states in Europe with independent strategic deterrents. Their alignment reinforces NATO’s nuclear posture without relying solely on U.S. capabilities, sending a clear message to potential adversaries that Europe possesses a robust and coordinated nuclear deterrent capacity. This serves to enhance stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and reassure allies within NATO, particularly those in Eastern Europe, that deterrence is multilayered and reinforced by intra-European capabilities.

Strategically, the partnership contributes to global nuclear stability by demonstrating responsible behavior among nuclear-armed states. Both countries reaffirmed their full support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and pledged to coordinate more closely to uphold and strengthen the global non-proliferation regime. Their cooperation not only sustains nuclear readiness but also supports arms control objectives by showcasing how two sovereign nuclear powers can work together without undermining their respective autonomy.

The United Kingdom currently maintains a sea-based nuclear deterrent exclusively through its Continuous At-Sea Deterrence (CASD) posture, relying on four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), each capable of carrying Trident II D5 missiles armed with multiple warheads. At any given time, one SSBN is deployed on patrol, ensuring uninterrupted strategic coverage. The UK is also advancing its Dreadnought-class submarine program, set to replace the Vanguard-class by the 2030s, securing long-term viability of its sea-based deterrent.

In a significant development, the UK recently confirmed the introduction of a nuclear combat capability for its new F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft. While traditionally reliant solely on submarine-based deterrence, this move indicates a strategic diversification of delivery platforms. The UK plans to integrate U.S.-supplied B61-12 tactical nuclear bombs with its F-35A fleet under NATO nuclear sharing arrangements. This capability is expected to be deployed in coordination with U.S. assets and will be based at British RAF (Royal Air Force) Lakenheath, operated jointly with U.S. Air Forces in Europe. The addition of a flexible air-based nuclear strike component restores a dual-domain deterrent capacity to the British arsenal for the first time in decades.

France, meanwhile, maintains a diversified nuclear posture consisting of air and sea-based components. At sea, its Force Océanique Stratégique comprises four Triomphant-class SSBNs equipped with M51 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) that carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads. In the air domain, France operates airborne nuclear deterrence through its Force Aérienne Stratégique, primarily using Rafale F3R fighter aircraft armed with ASMP-A (Air-Sol Moyenne Portée-Amélioré) nuclear cruise missiles. These are operated both from land bases and from the nuclear-capable aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. France does not currently field land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), having dismantled its silo-based systems in the 1990s.

As of 2025, both the United Kingdom and France no longer maintain land-based nuclear missile capabilities, having fully dismantled these components in previous decades. The UK never operated fixed-site land-based ICBMs (InterContinental Ballistic Missiles), and retired its last air-delivered nuclear bombs in 1998. France, which once fielded silo-based ballistic missiles such as the S2 and S3 systems at the Plateau d’Albion, decommissioned its land-based component by the end of the 1990s. Today, neither country retains any operational land-based nuclear missile platforms. This strategic posture reflects a deliberate shift toward survivable and mobile systems that enhance second-strike capability while aligning with modern deterrence principles and arms control responsibilities.

The UK and France collectively represent a powerful and technologically advanced nuclear force structure in Europe, combining strategic ballistic missile submarines with, in France’s case, dual-capable strike aircraft, and now a renewed British air-based capability. Their complementarity across sea and air domains provides a credible, flexible, and survivable deterrent. Enhanced cooperation between their military nuclear establishments strengthens operational effectiveness, crisis coordination, and long-term modernization planning, ensuring that Europe remains a strong pillar within NATO’s nuclear architecture while upholding international non-proliferation obligations.