Exercise Manticore: the prelude to Orion

In 2023 the armed forces will deploy for the biggest exercise of the last 50 years: Orion. To prepare for it, the French Army has for the first time combined the three major annual exercises of the 11th Parachute Brigade (11e BP), the 4th Air Combat Brigade (4e BAC) and the Army Special Forces Command (COMFST). For four weeks, nearly 3,000 troops conducted operations between Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. For the occasion, Défense Zone followed the men of the parachute brigade. Between parachute drops, combat and a simulated crash, here is a look back at Manticore, the last stage of preparation for high-intensity warfare before 2023.

7 am. Day is breaking over Francazal air base, where several hundred men and women of the 11th Parachute Brigade (11e BP) are preparing to jump over Mercurie, deep in enemy territory, marking the launch of the Manticore manoeuvre...

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