STUTTGART, Germany – After several years without an exercise on its territory, the French army is preparing for the final phase of Orion 2023, a new exercise focused on multi-domain operations to prepare troops for a realistic combat scenario.
Orion incorporates approximately 20 events that the services typically conduct separately and involve multiple allies, including the United States. The chief of staff of the French armies, General Thierry Burkhard, ordered the development of this exercise several years ago, declared Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, spokesman for the chief of staff of the French armies, during a virtual press conference on April 13.
Based on a NATO-derived scenario, the exercise revolves around a fictional narrative to restore security to the state of “Arnland” and comprises four distinct phases. Phase 1, held over the course of 2021 and 2022, was the planning phase, Gaudillière explained.
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Phase 2, which ran from February to March 2023, involved a rapid response deployment of 7,000 troops, led by France and reinforced by allies, which included capabilities and assets covering all areas: land , maritime, air, space, cyber, electromagnetic and informational. This mission reflected a “first entry operation into a contested domain”, in which the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was used to help set up an amphibious operation, alongside an air campaign involving all air assets, a said Gaudillière.
Phase 3, which took place last month, was an inter-agency table-top exercise to mirror a “politico-military crisis management” scenario. Finally, phase 4, which will start next week and run until mid-May, will include simulations of French and international units, down to division level, combined with units in the field, to represent a coalition deployment under a UN and NATO mandate.
Orion’s final phase will involve 12,000 troops on the ground, including 1,700 soldiers from 14 allied nations, Gaudillière said. About 2,600 tactical vehicles, including 400 combat vehicles will be used, as well as 60 aircraft – including 50 fighter jets – and 30 ships, including the French aircraft carrier and two amphibious helicopter carriers. About 100 unmanned aerial systems of all sizes will also be involved, including two MQ-9 Reaper drones and 20 space sensors, according to the ministry.
Exercise planners also built a “dedicated universe” involving simulated networks, newsrooms and interactions with journalists, to ensure that exercise participants are in contact with the type of stimuli that ‘they would usually entertain in such a conflict, but without “real world interference,” he noted.
Although the general scenario of the exercise was not changed following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, the planners included “stimuli” inspired by what France observed on the Ukrainian battlefields and the conflict at large, according to Gaudillière.
Phase 4 will take place entirely on French national territory, in different departments and regions in the northeast and west of the country. Allied nations participating in Orion ’23 include Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Greece and Spain, with some nations participating at the command level and others providing capabilities including helicopters and fighter jets, said Gaudillière.
French officials expect Orion to become a three-year exercise, with the next iteration to take place in 2026, after two years of planning, he added.
Vivienne Machi is a journalist based in Stuttgart, Germany, who contributes to Defense News’ European coverage. She previously worked for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defense Media Awards’ Best Young Defense Journalist in 2020.