Damping is known to be a major parameter in the seismic design of nuclear facilities. Of special interest is the case of fuel assemblies in PWR plants, which, unlike other components, are submitted to axial flows: it has been known since the late 80s that their frequency response to lateral excitations was largely dependent on the flow velocity, and the issue raised by this observation is to determine a consistent fluid force model which could be used in seismic design. In the scientific literature, the standard model of fluid forces exerted upon an oscillating slender body was originally derived by Lighthill, and it involves a lift coefficient which, up to a reference frame shift, describes the force generated by a small angle of inclination of the body axis against the flow direction. Recent works by Divaret et al. have provided a value of this lift coefficient equal to 0.11 for a single cylinder, and to 0.18 for a square array of 5 by 8 cylinders, the Reynolds numbers being in the range of 104. Sticking to the idea that the damping stems from the local angle of inclination of the structure against the flow direction, the present study revisits recent tests performed in the Hermes test rig of CEA Cadarache, where a fuel assembly was submitted to incipient flow velocities varying from 1.5 to 5m.s−1, and to a lateral force exerted upon the middle grid, generating displacements in the ranges of a few mm and of a few Hz. Under the assumption that the fuel assembly behaves in an approximately linear manner and that it undergoes harmonic deformations close to its first natural mode shape, the dissipative fluid force can be expressed by an adequate combination of the hydraulic cylinder force and of the structure displacements. A lift coefficient equal to 0.3–0.4 is obtained with this procedure, which stands for the overall fuel bundle, rods and grids included.