France deployed nuclear-capable jets to Poland, report says

President Emmanuel Macron announced that France was sending the Rafales after 19 Russian UAVs penetrated deep into Polish airspace on Sept. 10.

The report says that the three jets are designed to carry ASMP-A supersonic cruise missiles armed with tactical nuclear warheads and are not optimized for counter-drone missions.

Photos published by French Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jérôme Bellanger appear to confirm the deployment of these specialized Rafales, which belong to Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette at Saint-Dizier–Robinson Air Base. France operates only 20 of these nuclear-capable Rafales as part of its independent deterrent.

It remains unclear whether the warheads accompanied the aircraft to Poland. An A400M transport plane also landed in the country around the same time, raising speculation—but no confirmation—that it carried nuclear ordnance. The Rafales are based at Mińsk Mazowiecki Air Base, roughly 115 kilometers (71 miles) from the Belarus border, a move analysts describe as a “very pointed” signal to Moscow and Minsk.

Unlike many European fighters that rely on U.S. B61 bombs, the Rafale’s ASMP-A missile has a range of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), can reach speeds up to Mach 3, and carries a TN 81 nuclear warhead with a yield of 100 to 300 kilotons.

France’s nuclear arsenal is relatively small but wholly independent, in contrast with the UK’s, and costs roughly $7.1 billion annually to maintain.