The footage begins with a Rafale taking off, followed by a brief sequence where a F-35 passes the French aircraft. At the 15-second mark, the Rafale’s radar locks on to the American fighter before an audio command of “take the shot” is heard, simulating a missile launch in the mock engagement.
🇫🇮 Pour la 1ère fois, l’exercice trilatéral #AtlanticTrident s’est tenu en #Finlande, nouveau membre de l’#Otan depuis 2023.
Objectif : renforcer l’interopérabilité entre les forces aériennes 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷 face aux défis de la haute intensité.
Pour en savoir + : https://t.co/CXeOZCp7Al pic.twitter.com/5eTq97AQ8v— Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (@Armee_de_lair) August 20, 2025
Later in the clip, a Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet is also targeted twice by the Rafale, at the 22-23 and 28-30 second points. The exercise, hosted at Rovaniemi Air Base from 16 to 27 June, brought together air forces from Finland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to NATO, Atlantic Trident 25 involved about 40 aircraft and around 1,000 personnel, testing Agile Combat Employment concepts designed to adapt to evolving aerial warfare. Participants included Finland’s F/A-18s, NH90 helicopters and ground-based defences, France’s Rafales, A400M and A330 MRTT, RAF Typhoons, and U.S. F-35As, F-15Es and KC-135 Stratotankers.
The Rafale has previously demonstrated its capability against U.S. stealth aircraft. In 2009, a French jet was credited with a mock “kill” on a US F-22 Raptor during a UAE exercise, a claim later supported by cockpit footage showing the Rafale sustaining 9g manoeuvres to secure the lock.
