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Further Reading

Armée de Terre

The French Ground Forces provide defense against threats to the homeland. The French Army is more likely, however, to be needed for rapid deployment missions in smaller conflicts around Europe's periphery and French overseas territories. At the same time, the capabilities of stealthy aircraft and long-distance air-launched precision munitions raise the profile of the Air Force in many scenarios. French requirements are also designed to create a mobile force with sophisticated weaponry and supporting mobility, command and control, and intelligence assets. This will not only allow French forces to achieve battlefield superiority, but will also reduce the risk of casualties and close the technology gap with the United States.

The army structure will combine "decisive" forces, capable of engaging in the fiercest combat, "multi-role" forces destined more to be first in theatre with an element of surprise, and for transition phases and stabilisation operations, and "emergency" forces with a high level of strategic mobility.

During the program period, efforts will be made to improve the protection of the onboard infantryman with the acquisition and initial set up of new infantry armoured vehicles, the delivery of 272 VBCI (armoured vehicles) to equip three regiments starting in 2006, along with a new order for 157 articulated tracked vehicles (VAC). In addition, the renovation of the VAB (armoured vehicle) fleet, the delivery of five hundred additional light armoured vehicles and the renovation of the AMX 10 RC tanks will be maintained. In parallel, 14,000 units of the FELIN system will be commissioned, equipping two-thirds of the units during this period.

With the delivery of the last 117 Leclerc tanks, the armoured vehicle action capacity will achieve a level tailored to the changing threats (eight groups of forty tanks on the line). The Leclerc / VBCI system will restore the consistency of the components devoted to coercive actions which was lost when the AMX 10P became obsolete. The commissioning of the first "support-protection" version of the Tigre helicopters will give France a new capability to address future combat conditions.

With continued efforts toward interoperability and the capability of fitting in with allied systems, the tactical information application systems will be improved and two major units will be digitised. An effort will be made for means to assist deployment in the field, and terrain development with broader capabilities to deal with the requirements of long-lasting crisis management. These means may also be used to provide aid to population groups within the national territory, in particular for natural or technological catastrophes.

For the 2015 Army model, operational reserve numbers have been set at 100,000 persons with the goal of reaching 82,000 in 2008, of which 28,000 would be in the Army and the rest in other services. The system derived from the law of 22 October 1999 makes it possible to replace mass reserves by employment reserves. It is better suited to the new defence assignments through its three principles that form this approach's originality : voluntary service, induction into active forces and partnership between Government, the Reserves and civil employers. The law gives two assignments to the reserves, managed by way of two different components: operational reserves in charge of reinforcing the capabilities of the armed forces, and civil reserves more specifically assigned to maintaining, intensifying and developing the links between defence and society. The operational reserves must be capable of supplying the reinforcements needed to guarantee territorial security when the units are massively posted to outside theatres. In the future they should participate more specifically in the territorial protection and security and in protecting people from risks related both to terrorism and to natural or technological crisis situations.

The Army must be able to commit:

• up to 20,000 men, simultaneously for an unlimited period in several theatres, whether in a national operation (1,000 to 5,000 men) or in a European operation (12 to 15,000 men). This level can reach 26,000 for a period of up to one year, taking into account average activity rates of units that do not exceed four months of annual deployment;
• more than 50,000 men, without relief, to take part in a major conflict within the Atlantic Alliance.

While retaining the capabilities necessary to operate as a framework nation, ground forces will also be proportioned to allow France to:

• take command of a joint forces land army corps (Land Component Command or LCC);
• provide the framework for a reinforced NATO division (of two or three French joint brigades and one or two allied brigades), with full tactical autonomy in all joint operational functions (contact combat, support);
• organise logistic support for the land component, or for the joint force.

Modernisation efforts will give priority to force protection, digitisation of the operational space, restoring air mobility capability, the acquisition of deep-strike capabilities. Out of an overall force strength of 131,000 soldiers, the ground forces will make up an operational force of 88,000 soldiers, organised into:

• 8 joint brigades, equipped with some 250 Leclerc-type main battle tanks, some 650 AICV-type armoured vehicles, 80 combat helicopters, 130 support helicopters and some 25,000 FELIN-type infantry combat suites;
• 3 specialised brigades;
• The corresponding support resources.