Planned for 2023, Exercise Orion is a full-scale divisional exercise that will last several days, based probably out of camps at Suippes, Mailly & Mourmelon.
In the forests and plains of the Champagne-Ardenne region, where once the great powers went into battle, the French armed forces are beginning to prepare for the return of a major conflict.
It will involve the full range of French military capacity on a scale not tested for decades.
The drill will include command-post exercises, hybrid scenarios, simulation and live-fire drills.
That represents a seismic shift for French forces.
« We absolutely have to prepare for a more dangerous world » ( General Thierry Burkhard )