French Armed Forces Update November 2020 This paper is NOT an official publication from the French Armed Forces. It provides an update on the French military operations and main activities. The French Defense Attaché Office has drafted it in accordance with open publications. The French Armed Forces are heavily deployed both at home and overseas. On the security front, the terrorist threat is still assessed as high in France and operation “Sentinelle” (Guardian) is still going on. Overseas, the combat units are extremely active against a determined enemy and the French soldiers are constantly adapting their courses of action and their layout plans to the threat. Impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the French Armed Forces have resumed their day-to-day activities and operations under the sign of transformation and modernization. DeuxIN huss arMEMORIAMds parachut istes tués par un engin explosif improvisé au Mali | Zone Militaire 09/09/2020 11:16 SHARE On September 5th, during a control operation within the Tessalit + region, three hussards were seriously injured after the explosion & of an Improvised Explosive Device. Despite the provision of + immediate care and their quick transportation to the hospital, the ! hussard parachutiste de 1ère classe Arnaud Volpe and + brigadier-chef S.T1 died from their injuries. ' + ( Après la perte du hussard de 1ere classe Tojohasina Razafintsalama, le On23 November 12th, during a routine mission in the vicinity of juillet, lors d’une attaque suicide commise avec un VBIED [véhicule piégé], le 1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes [RHP] a une nouvelle fois été Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, nine members of the Multinational endeuillé, ce 5 septembre. Force and Observers (MFO) were involved in a helicopter crash. En effet, en fin de matinée, l’un de ses VBL [Véhicule blindé léger] a étéThe visé crash cost the life of lieutenant-colonel Sebastien Botta, as par un engin explosif improvisé [IED] lors d’une opération de contrôle welld ezone as those of five US service members and a Czech service dans la région de Tessalit. member. Les trois occupants du blindés ont été très gravement blessés par l’ explosion. Malheureusement, malgré les soins prodigués immédiatement par l’équipe médicale déployée à leurs côtés, deux d’entre-eux, le hussard parachutiste de première classe Arnaud Volpe et le brigadier-chef de première classe S.T [*] ont succombé à leurs blessures. Le pronostic vital de leur camarade, pour le moment stable, reste « réservé », selon l’État-major des armées [EMA]. La force de réaction rapide a été « déclenchée », avec l’appui de deux Mirage 1 2000D, According a précisé to l’EMA. the «request La détermination of the fade mily,la force his Barkhane name n’ wasest en not rien communicated; entamée face à un ennemi encore capable de porter des coups », a-t-il 1 souligné. « Le Président de la République s’incline avec un profond respect devant le sacrifice de ces soldats du 1er régiment de hussards parachutistes de T arbes, morts pour la France dans l’accomplissement de leur mission contre le http://www.opex360.com/2020/09/05/d eux- hussards-parachut istes-tues-par- un-engin-explosif- improvise- au- mali/ Page 2 sur 20 1. OPERATIONS 1.1. DEPLOYMENT OF THE FRENCH ARMED FORCES2 Homeland Protection FRENCH ARMED FORCES – CURRENT OPERATIONS More than 30,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen & Gendarmes deployed overseas (20,000 Army) 13,000 Sovereignty forces Nuclear Deterrence 7,150 Forward forces 3,750 Overseas Operations NAVAL MISSIONS UN EU NATO 5,100 600 740 150 4,150 300 1.2. THEATERS NEWS CHAMMAL: MULTINATIONAL JOINT OPERATIONS IN SYRIA AND IRAK Launched in September 2014, on request of the Iraqi government and in coordination with allied forces, operation Chammal is providing air and ground support as well as training to Iraqi forces committed against ISIS and other terrorist groups. The operation has been extended to Syria following the terrorist attacks in November 2015. France's contribution to the operations in these areas is mainly supported by a detachment of the French Air Force. Based in Jordan and in the United Arab Emirates, it participates to the allied air strikes against ISIS. Concerning the mentorship and the training support to the Iraqis Forces, the French Army contributes to the global effort of the alliance after the reorganization of Operation Inherent Resolve command structures. Mentorship in Iraq 2 Army, Air Force, Navy and Gendarmerie 2 BARKHANE: GLOBAL SUB-SAHARAN ANTI-TERRORIST MISSION Operation Barkhane, spanning five countries in the Sahel region of North Africa, started in the beginning of August 2014 after the completion of Operation Serval. With their main base located in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, the FR forces are actively operating in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger. Following the murder of 6 French and 2 Nigerian civilians, the objective of the Barkhane force and its allies was to keep and consolidate the control of the region. Operations have been consisting of raids led deep inside A French Air Force Reaper in Mali enemy sanctuaries combined with airborne operations and airmobile attacks. The next challenge will be to accelerate the rise of local armed forces (Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger, G5 Sahel Joint Force) with the contribution and the support of European, Canadian and American allies committed in the region. SENTINELLE & RESILIENCE: HOMELAND PROTECTION Committing 10,000 soldiers across the country, operation Sentinelle was launched to support the security forces in the aftermath of the November 2015 terrorist attacks. This operation is still ongoing. The Operation Sentinelle still includes three responsive layers: - a permanent operational force of 2,600 men, whose objective is to ensure permanent missions of security in the most sensitive and vulnerable areas; - a planned reinforcement echelon of 4,400 men, helping to secure occasional or seasonal events; - a strategic reserve of 3,000 men in the hands of the French President. In order to support civil services who are still committed into the fight against COVID-19, the Armed Forces have adapted the Armed Forces Health Service Reinforcement in Guadeloupe layout of the operation RESILIENCE launched on March the 26th. After the lifting of many lockdown restrictions and the deconstruction of temporary structures, the Armed Forces have concentrated their efforts on the French overseas territories. Depending on the evolution of the sanitarian situation, they are also ready to be engaged in case of 2nd wave. Today, 13,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors are deployed in France mainland and overseas territories in the frame of these two operations. 3 2. FRENCH ARMED FORCES HIGHLIGHTS 2.1. A STEADY BUDGET FOR THE FRENCH ARMED FORCES IN 2021 In 2021, the French Armed Forces Ministry will benefit for the third year in a row of an increased and consolidated budget totaling $59.5 billion for 2021. The main items of expenditures of the $59.6 billion French defense budget will be: - $47 billion of increased payment credits as planned by the 2019- 2025 Military Program Act, out of which, a record $26.7 billion for modernizing equipment and buildings, $14.8 billion for wages, and $5.5 billion for operating costs; - $10.2 billion will fund pensions. Mrs Florence Parly, French - $2.4 billion of the total defense budget will be allocated to the Armed Forces Minister government’s department focused on veterans’ affairs Its minister, Mrs. Florence Parly recently stressed that the Military Program Act 2019-2025 has been strictly respected with an additional $2 billion. Since 2019, the French Armed Forces have had $21.7 billion more to spend than in 2017 and will benefit from a global $132 billion investment budget between 2019 and 2023. DEFENSE CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN In early June, the government revealed a series of plans aimed at specific industries severely hit by the pandemic. Even if the big four of the French Defense Industry (Airbus, Dassault Aviation, Safran and Thales) have benefited from several funds of the $18 billion aeronautics plan, the mechanisms recently set up put the priority on the future helping innovative suppliers. Specifically designed to back the sector’s supply chain, the funded innovative projects encompass a large array like modernizing production tools, research and development efforts or digital transformation. As a reminder, France counts about 1,300 companies ranging from startups to major firms that employ approximately 300,000 people in the aeronautics sector. In this context, the Armed Forces Ministry is committed in the immediate response to the economical aftermaths of the pandemic bringing sufficient workload to the aeronautics sector through a $1.01 billion spending envelop: - Anticipated order for three A330 Phénix multirole tankers; - Early order for a light surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft; - Early order for eight H225M Caracal helicopters for the Air and Space Force; - Early order for a naval airborne drone system and an onboard mini-drone; - Early order for 12 helicopters, two EC-145s and 10 EC-160s, for the Gendarmerie and the civil security forces. The ministry’s contributions also include $360 million in subsidies for suppliers and subcontractors, and $1.8 billion spent over the next three years to support Research, Development and innovation. THE MAIN PROJECTS FUNDED IN 2021 Under the defense budget, the Army will procure: - 12,000 HK416F assault rifles (and order another 12,000); - Five Caiman helicopters (and order 21 light joint helicopters); - 20 Jaguar armored vehicles, 157 Griffon armored vehicles, 80 renovated VBL light armored vehicles (and order another 120) and 1,000 VLTP light tactical multipurpose vehicles; - 850 portable radios (and order 2,900); and 925 vehicle radios (and The acquisition of 300 AFV Jaguar and 1872 order 7,300); IFV Griffon is planned with the SCORPION - 200 MMP medium-range missiles and 75 firing posts; Program - 10 SDT tactical drones.