How sweet, the British pilot displayed a French flag in the cockpit. And I just noticed it was actually landing, not taking off...

🇫🇷🇬🇧☢️ The French Minister of the Armed Forces has just announced that British Eurofighter combat aircraft took part in a French nuclear exercise for the first time. This is a revolution for the Strategic Air Forces (FAS), which have always operated in complete autonomy since their creation in the 1960s. It is worth noting, however, that two FAS Rafale B aircraft had already conducted a joint exercise with two German Eurofighters this summer. This exercise puts the Northwood Declaration, signed in July 2025, into concrete effect — a declaration that specifically opened the way to operational cooperation in the field of nuclear deterrence. The released photos show at least one British Eurofighter equipped only with short-range ASRAAM air-to-air missiles and fuel tanks. The scope of the exercise remains unknown. It may have been exercise BELOTE 2026-04, which was scheduled for this Tuesday at night (with a reserve slot on Wednesday). BELOTE is a kind of "mini-POKER" and is likely used for the qualification of new crews so that they can then take part in the POKER operation. If this is indeed the case, it paves the way for British crews to take part in the next POKER. However, no activity was visible on @ADSBex during these two days, which is very unusual. Edit: It seems that the name of the exercise was "RUMMY", which is also a card game, like BELOTE and POKER. Picture : A RAF Eurofighter taking off alongside a Rafale B from the 4th wing (FAS) - Credits Ministère des Armées

Both options are possible, the F-35A / F-16 A/B and or Tornado IDS need to get very close (probably less than 15 km) to their target before releasing the B61 nuclear bomb. So it is crucial to disable as many air defense systems as possible before the DCA arrive.

☢️ Today was the first day of flight of STEADFAST NOON 2026 exercise in Italy. As a reminder, this is NATO's annual nuclear exercise. According to the official statement, this year's edition involves the assets of 17 nations contributing to the nuclear mission of the Alliance, be it through nuclear means ("Dual-capable aircraft" or DCA) or conventional ("Conventional support to nuclear operation" or CSNO). The exercise does not involve any live nuclear weapon. So far I have been able to see only the force multipliers: - one Italian G550 AEW&C aircraft - one NATO E-3A AEW&C aircraft - one Italian KC-767 tanker - one NATO MRTT tanker - two German A400M transport aircraft probably in refueling configuration. According to the SUPAIP published by ENAV for this exercise, most of the action will happen over the sea and over Eastern Sardinia. I have yet to identify the "target" (it was easier last year over the Netherland)