France and Germany have turned nuclear deterrence talks into flight-line action. French Rafales and German Eurofighters completed a joint refuelling sortie, and a French nuclear-capable Rafale was temporarily based at Nörvenich near Cologne as Paris and Berlin opened the first operational phase of their forward deterrence cooperation. Germany will add conventional forces to France’s Poker nuclear exercise in September, while France keeps sole control of its nuclear arsenal, doctrine and command chain. The move follows the Franco-German Defence and Security Council meeting and signals tighter airpower integration across tanker support, strike packages and escalation management below the nuclear threshold.