Défense Zone magazine #21

Issue 21 of Défense Zone magazine, printed in France on photo paper.

NEW LOOK!

In this 84-page issue:

• Special report: paratroopers
• Reports:
  - Cyber Coalition 2025, NATO at cyberwar
  - Behind the scenes of the Patrouille de France
  - [Exclusive] Mission Lynx, the French in Estonia
  - Angola, the mine-detecting rats that save lives
  - War reporting: the battle of Mosul
  
• Portfolio: Saint-Cyr cadets celebrate the 2S
  
• Geostrategy: focus on black gold

Editorial of Défense Zone Magazine #21

Five years after the launch of Défense Zone, this 21st issue ushers in a new look. After twenty editions and countless hours spent in the field, in the newsroom and on layout, we have chosen to evolve the magazine. A redesigned cover, reorganised sections, some new ones, a more consistent layout: all adjustments intended to improve readability and reading pleasure, without ever betraying the spirit that has driven us since day one.

This first “new version” issue could only open with a nod to our beginnings. In 2021, our very first special report was devoted to the 11th Parachute Brigade (11e BP). Twenty issues later, we return to these units to ask about their future: technical innovations, new canopies, robotics, drones, tactical evolution… Paratroopers remain a breakthrough force and a strong marker of the French Army; understanding how they are adapting to tomorrow’s conflicts sheds light on the wider evolution of land combat.

This issue also offers a portfolio devoted to the 2S, the traditional celebration of the Saint-Cyr cadets, culminating in the re-enactment of the battle of Austerlitz on the heights of Coëtquidan. A rare immersion in a military ritual that combines history, transmission and high standards.

Further east, we followed the Cyber Coalition 2025 exercise in Tallinn, one of NATO’s largest cyber events, before joining the French troops deployed in Tapa as part of Mission Lynx. Two complementary reports that capture, from different angles, how armed forces are preparing for contemporary threats.

This issue also features a new column on military history, as well as an exceptional document: a photo report by Patrick Chauvel, the renowned war reporter, on the terrible battle of Mosul, which he lived through from the inside with his son.

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