France sent a powerful rebuke to Russia on Tuesday when it announced that it had recently conducted a nuclear strike exercise.

Launching a Rafale fighter on an 11-hour sortie, the French air force tested the launch of an ASMP or ASMP-A medium-range cruise missile. These missiles can be armed with a nuclear warheads in the 100 kiloton-per-warhead force range. Yet it is the timing of this test that makes it most compelling. After all, it complements the U.S. decision earlier this week to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. That action follows Russia's breach of the INF treaty as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's broader effort to degrade NATO deterrent resolve. But with the ASMP designed for use in the medium-range battlespace, this test is a direct riposte to Russia. As important, Russia will see this test as just that: a riposte. Consider, for example, that this exercise utilized France's airborne nuclear launch platform. That choice fits with how U.S., British, and French air forces are advancing their effort to penetrate powerful Russian air defense bubbles in the event of a conflict.

Put simply, this military test is filled with political meaning for Russia: We are as ready as ever to nuke you if you nuke us.

While that message might seem inflammatory, it should actually calm tensions. Russia is attempting to fray the bonds of the alliance's mutual commitment pledge, and Putin is improving his means of launching high-impact attacks on NATO interests. But if Russia knows that it wouldn't simply be the U.S. and Britain alone resisting its aggression, its penchant for risking that aggression will decline. Remember, Putin is an ambitious realist, not a psychopath. He knows that a full-scale nuclear war between Russia and NATO would mean Russia's defeat. That's why it's so important he be constantly reminded that NATO is willing to match his threats with its own.

President Trump should thank President Emmanuel Macron here. Alongside France's nuclear ballistic missile submarine fleet -- Triomphant, Terrible, Téméraire, and Vigilant — America's oldest ally is showing new commitment to confronting a shared challenge. If only German Chancellor Angela Merkel were willing to do the same.