France Set to Be the Last Nuclear Weapons State Without a Stealth Fighter

<p >Since the mid-2000s the world’s nine nuclear weapons states have each made strides to equip themselves with fifth generation fighters. Following the U.S. Air Force’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/25-f22-maiden-flight-looks-like-failure" target="_blank">commissioning of the world’s first</a> fifth generation fighter the F-22 Raptor in December 2005, the service operationalised the lighter F-35A in 2016, which was the first of its generation <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" target="_blank">capable of launching</a> nuclear attacks. The F-35 was subsequently exported to Israel and the United Kingdom, while orders for the aircraft have been placed by all of Washington’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/europe-snuclear-stealth-fighter-f35-dutch" target="_blank">nuclear sharing partners</a> including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Although these countries do not produce nuclear weapons, nuclear sharing agreements give them access to American B61-12 nuclear bombs <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nato-more-nuclear-weapons-standby" target="_blank">deployed on their territories</a> in the event of war, meaning all of them can utilise the F-35 for nuclear strikes. Opposing these NATO members’ arsenals, the Russian Air Force <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-air-force-new-su57-su34" target="_blank">operationalised</a> its first regiment of Su-57 fifth generation fighters in 2024, after investing in the less costly aircraft as an alternative to the more ambitious<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-half-price-ambitious-mig142" target="_blank"> Soviet MiG 1.42 program</a>. The MiG 1.42 was previously expected to enter service around 2001, and to have potentially made the USSR the first country to field fifth generation fighters. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/17/article_67d772c51de574_12471494.jpeg" title="F-35 Drops B61-12 Nuclear Bomb During Testing" ></p><p >China became the second country to operationalise an indigenous fifth generation fighter in February 2017 when the J-20 was brought into service. A lighter counterpart to the J-20, the FC-31, has since been reported to have been order by Pakistan with service entry expected for before the end of the decade. Facing the Pakistani fleet, the Indian Air Force was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-considering-plans-su57-license-production" target="_blank">confirmed</a> in February 2024 to be considering a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-offered-path-quick-license-production-su57-landmark-deal" target="_blank">license production deal</a> for the Su-57, which has the potential to make it the largest operator of fifth generation fighters outside China and the United States. India has long shown a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/license-fifthgen-su57-aeroindia" target="_blank">strong interest </a>in the fighter, with its appeal to export clients reported to have been raised by its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-sources-su57-r37m-shoot-down-ukrainians" target="_blank">intensive combat testing</a> in the Ukrainian theatre. Following India, the world’s newest nuclear weapons state North Korea is reportedly set to begin receiving new Russian fighters in the near future. North Korean officials have shown an interest in procuring advanced Russian fighters for some years, and in September 2023 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-of-north-korean-aviation-in-russia-kim-jong-un-tours-plants-producing-su-35-and-su-57-fighters-and-sukhoi-airliners">inspected facilities</a> which produced the Su-57 at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant. Statements from the country’s leadership have also indicated that they view the deployment of American F-35 fifth generation fighters in the region as a major threat, fuelling speculation that procurement of the Su-57 is being seriously considered.</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/17/article_67d772e311b6f0_66082435.jpeg" title="North Korean Leadership Inspect Su-57 Cockpit in Russia "></p><p >France remains the only nuclear weapons state without a clear path to fielding a fifth generation fighter, with its refusal to procure the F-35 set to leave it as the only major air force in Europe without such aircraft. The joint Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next generation fighter program is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dassault-chief-highlights-european-sixth-gen-fighter-could-come-25-years-behind-u-s-and-china" target="_blank">not expected</a> to produce a fighter for over two decades, with the CEO of French aerospace firm Dassault Eric Trappier having elaborated regarding the state of the FCAS program that “[The target of] 2040 is already missed, because we already stall, and the discussions of the next phase will surely also be long… so we rather aim for the 2050s.” This meant the fighter would enter service around 20 years behind American and Chinese sixth generation fighters. The lack of a modern fighter capability has important implications for the viability of France’s nuclear forces. Not only will France lack a capability to delivery tactical nuclear strikes with the same level of effectiveness as other nuclear weapons states, but its strategic nuclear infrastructure including its nuclear submarine fleet will also be more vulnerable due to a lack of competitive fighters able to offer protection. Among the world’s nine nuclear weapons states, the future of the French fighter fleet and its aerial nuclear delivery capability thus appear to be the least certain, with the country unwilling to rely on China, Russia or the United States for political reasons, and unable to produce a similarly advanced aircraft domestically or with its European neighbours. </p>

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