26 March, 2025 Rafale fighters and A330 MRTT tanker. Photo: AAE
In France, the Poker 2025 nuclear deterrence forces exercises have started, during which the simulation of missile launches with nuclear warheads is being practiced.
Air & Cosmos media reported on this.
The publication notes that such exercises are usually conducted four times a year at night, but this time, they started during the day, when the takeoff of six A330 MRTT refueling aircraft was recorded.
The purpose of the exercises is to simulate the division of the country into two parts — an enemy side and an allied side. One of the sides is tasked with breaking through air defense systems, organizing appropriate routes, and successfully launching nuclear strikes on designated targets. The other side must defend pre-determined strategically important objects and prevent the enemy’s breakthrough, simulating the launch of surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.
Французькі паливозаправники у небі в рамках навчань «Poker 2025». Фото: Air&Cosmos, ADS-BFrench fuel tankers in the sky during the Poker 2025 exercise. Photo CREDITS: Air&Cosmos, ADS-B
The air battle took place over southern and central France at the beginning of the day on March 25, 2025. Meanwhile, Rafale B fighter jets armed with a tactical strike missile with a nuclear warhead were breaching the enemy’s air defense systems, which were represented by SAMP/T systems.
During the exercises, real ASMP-A missiles were not used, only their size and weight simulators, which could be safely dropped from the aircraft in case of unforeseen situations.
These exercises are conducted to check the personnel, improve organizational capabilities, and assess the readiness of flight crews and aviation, which must be capable of carrying out such missions around the clock throughout the entire year.
France conducted the last Poker exercise in April 2021, but it took place at night and involved a significant amount of aviation equipment.
Схематичний план проведення навчань повітряного компонента сил ядерного стримування «Poker». Фото: ALASchematic plan of the Poker exercise of the air component of the nuclear deterrent. Photo credits: ALA
As of today, France’s nuclear arsenal is the only independent one, both politically and technically, allowing the country to use and modernize it without the need for approval from third parties, including the United States.
Militarnyi previously reported that France is one of the five officially recognized nuclear states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and has its own nuclear arsenal known as the Force de Frappe (“Strike Forces”). This arsenal was developed to guarantee national security and independence, which has been a key principle of French defense policy since the time of Charles de Gaulle.
Unlike the United Kingdom, France has developed a fully autonomous nuclear program that covers all stages — from the extraction of materials to the production of warheads and delivery systems.
As of 2024, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, France has approximately 290 nuclear warheads, of which about 280 are deployed, and the rest are in reserve.