France launches biggest military exercise in decades
France has launched its biggest military exercise in decades, with soldiers practising parachute operations and amphibious landings along the Mediterranean coast, as well as cyber-warfare.
The Orion 23 exercise, which has been planned since 2021, is intended to prepare French forces for high-intensity engagement and the increasingly complex situations of modern warfare.
Beginning this week, military operations will take place across the Occitanie region, notably in Sète, Cahors, Castres and Caylus, before moving to the Atlantic coast regions of Nouvelle Aquitaine and Brittany.
Le plus ambitieux exercice militaire interarmées depuis plusieurs décennies a débuté cette semaine. 🇫🇷 #Orion23
⤵️ pic.twitter.com/dFLd8SG6yI
— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) February 25, 2023
“The objective of Orion 23 is to show France's ability to be the first to enter a theatre of operations, but also to lead an international coalition", one officer told regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi.
Exercise commander Nicolas Le Nen added: "This is the return of big operations on French soil."
In total the Orion23 exercises will last for two months and involve 20,000 troops who will practice land, air and sea combat.
In a sign of the changing face of warfare, the exercise will also include cyber and information warfare, according to defence minister Sébastien Lecornu, who described it as "the biggest military exercise in France for decades".
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The Orion 23 exercise, which has been planned since 2021, is intended to prepare French forces for high-intensity engagement and the increasingly complex situations of modern warfare.
Beginning this week, military operations will take place across the Occitanie region, notably in Sète, Cahors, Castres and Caylus, before moving to the Atlantic coast regions of Nouvelle Aquitaine and Brittany.
Le plus ambitieux exercice militaire interarmées depuis plusieurs décennies a débuté cette semaine. 🇫🇷 #Orion23
— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) February 25, 2023
⤵️ pic.twitter.com/dFLd8SG6yI
“The objective of Orion 23 is to show France's ability to be the first to enter a theatre of operations, but also to lead an international coalition", one officer told regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi.
Exercise commander Nicolas Le Nen added: "This is the return of big operations on French soil."
In total the Orion23 exercises will last for two months and involve 20,000 troops who will practice land, air and sea combat.
In a sign of the changing face of warfare, the exercise will also include cyber and information warfare, according to defence minister Sébastien Lecornu, who described it as "the biggest military exercise in France for decades".
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