France takes part in joint military exercises in United States • FRANCE 24 English

In California’s Mojave Desert Captain L is in charge of launching a surveillance drone there’s also a team handling Communications the smdr is a small intellig drone 4 M wide it can be deployed in less than 15 minutes its job is to spot and film enemy positions within a 30 km

Radius do you have a static Target or not yes that’s a covered equipment truck and that’s a tanker truck how long have they been static the operation is part of a joint exercise called Capstone 4 on this military base five other armies are Tak part almost invisible except for this autonomous American

Helicopter being here and being able to use our sensors we’ve got stars in our eyes we’re reaping the rewards of all our work and we feel completely welcomed among our allies it’s the first time that France has been invited to work with the US Canada the UK Australia and New Zealand

The the objective is to test communication between the armies one example is the data gathered by the Drone and collected in this Griffin a state-of-the-art armored vehicle used as a command center our job is to verify the intelligence and the position of the vehicle that’s been identified then that

Information goes to the American Division to be destroyed by American artillery it might look like a simple transmission but it is often encrypted data that needs to be sent to an ally whose computer system is rarely compatible the aim is to speed up this process during Coalition operations what we’re essentially

Working on is interoperability the ability to act together during an operation this has a technical component how do we connect to each other and pass on information it’s all to enable leaders in the field to understand and make decisions faster than the adversary the other challenge is

Cultural the Allies have to overcome the language barrier and understand the protocols specific to each army with the world facing more conflict the US no longer seems willing to police the world on its own it always helps to have a bit of a sense of urgency whenever you’re trying

To do something difficult uh and yeah the world is a volatile Place uh there’s there’s all kinds of conflicts all over the place and you know we certainly want to be prepared whatever you think about what the future is going to bring uh we’re not no country is going to tackle

That future by themselves we’re going to do it with our allies and our partners we want capable Partners uh we want want Partners who have uh the idea of innovation in their in their Spirit uh and that can bring again new technologies and a willingness to operate with uh other

Countries that is why France has brought its latest technological developments French forces have deployed these next Generation sensors they’re capable of detecting the noise or vibrations of enemy vehicles or individuals on foot once they’re positioned behind a hill obs ation can begin so a few minutes ago my sensors

Detected a group of people on one of my positions the aim of these sensors is to monitor an area and provide information about it from a distance otherwise you’d have to do it directly with a pair of binoculars the sensors show it’s at almost 3 km we’re still testing these to

See if it’s useful in the field to contribute on a technical and tactical level these Innovations are designed to prepare the Army for the next 15 years they’re also of interest to the other guest country at these joint exercises Japan is there a battery inside yeah battery long it last

Lastday French made armor drones missiles this Japanese officer seems impressed I I told him that you should export at once to the Ukraine to help them state-of-the-art equipment and the deployment of 200 French soldiers over several weeks it’s a major operation much needed due to the emergence of

Conflicts closer to France like in Ukraine or between aaran and Armenia Wars like the one we’ve seen in nagorno kabak are extremely challenging reminding us how ready we have to be how much we have to train how much harder we have to fight France hopes to be invited again

Next year to establish itself as a resourceful Army and a key Ally of the United States in Europe

For the past month, more than 200 French military personnel have been stationed at Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert. For the first time, France has been invited to take part in joint exercises with five allied countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Initiated by the Pentagon, the project, dubbed “Convergence”, is designed to enable all these armies to cooperate in conflict zones and act as an effective coalition. Now that war has returned to Europe, the stakes are high for France. Our correspondents Valérie Defert and Pierrick Leurent followed the French army in the field, with Wassim Cornet.
#military #France #USA

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50 comments

  6. Do enjoy your time at NTC,France. About OpFor Don't worry France; they hammered EVERYONE equally. It's their jobs and they are very good at it. 😅

  9. Training in the desert? Hmm, does that mean they are getting ready to invade Yemen? Over Saudi Arabia objections? Best of lucks gentlemans. Let us know when you guys report the first 1,000 french-us casualties. And the public opinion back home.

  14. This is great news! We need France and their expertise to fight the next war if Putin decides to invade Europe. I hope to see the French Foreign Legion involved at some point.

  16. it is good to see the French coming out of their self imposed shell, I do not recall the French participating in NATO joint exercises in a long time.

  17. This is just an observation: Europe is always being lulled into complacency. European countries are planning for the least and reacting to the worst on their own continent.

  19. That ground sensor is interesting tech. Would be useful for not just drone also detect movement on the ground vibration.

  21. When I was in exercises in northern Germany back in the '80s, I learned the French equivalent of MREs had small bottles of wine! When I saw the thumbnail for this video, I figured it was at Ft. Irwin since I was stationed there the last two years of my USAF career.

  24. Why would you bother doing military exercises with unreliable France who surrendered in two world wars and it's only military action is bullying it's former colonies in Africa?

  31. UK, US Canada, Australia & New Zealand with France? You expect us to believe they are training for War in Europe because of Russia?? haha nope They're preparing for a conflict/War in Pacific. It's China. They just don't want it obvious that the French are also interested in Keeping China at Bay.

  32. I hope they tried some decent Mexican food while in Cali. Nothing beats your traditional ma and pa owned restaurant. Idk what it is that they serve over in Europe, but it's not Mexican food lol.

  41. I appreciate a great deal about cooperation between allies involved in drones… I hope we all can develop a cohesive strategy for robotic autonomous drones.

  42. je suis étonné qu'il n'y ait pas de soldats allemands, italiens, espagnols !!! Si la France engage des troupes en Ukraine et que les Russes font prisonnier 10 soldats français, il y aura immédiatement 10 millions de français qui défileront, en France, dans les rues en réclamant la démission du Président de la République.!!!

  43. Wow, the FRENCH are here?!! Welcome BACK to America, mis amis! Too bad the exercise wasn't out in former Louisiana Territory or the Ohio Country, you might have felt more at home. So much love to our dear French allies who helped us achieve independence so long ago!

  45. The good old NTC, I grew up near there. A lot of different countries have been training there for a long time.

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