French Navy leads drills practising for ‘tomorrow’s war’ in the Mediterranean

The aim is to prepare French personnel for a ‘high-intensity war,’ marked by uncertainty and surprise

France began two weeks of naval drills in the Mediterranean on Thursday, which were described as a “laboratory of war” to prepare for future conflicts.

About 6,000 troops are taking part in the Polaris exercises, working from 20 warships, a submarine, three naval headquarters and a fleet of aircraft.

With help from the UK, US, Italy, Greece and Spain, they will simulate a battle at sea involving the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

The carrier, which last week was involved in a collision with a sailing boat off the French coast, will come under an imaginary attack led by French amphibious helicopter carrier Tonnerre.

Both vessels were recently stationed in the Mediterranean, with the Tonnerre holding joint exercises with Greece during maritime tensions with Turkey.

The Greek frigate Adrias is also taking part, after sailing to the French port of Toulon for the drills, which are being held in the western part of the sea.

France has made a point of speaking up for Greece’s security, having signed a defence agreement with Athens in October.

The pact was welcomed by the Greek government as a security guarantee against Turkey, which has angered Paris with its claims on land, sea and mineral rights in the Mediterranean.

The Charles de Gaulle staged a show of strength with Britain’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth in the sea in June.

The UK’s involvement comes as it tries to salvage a F-35 combat aircraft out of the Mediterranean, after it crashed on Wednesday.

The French Navy said the Polaris exercises would push sailors to think on their feet and invent and test techniques.

“Polaris is a giant laboratory for the war of tomorrow,” said Admiral Pierre Vandier, chief of staff of the French Navy.

Admiral Vandier, a former commander of the Charles de Gaulle, said the aim was to prepare French personnel for a “high-intensity war”, marked by uncertainty and surprise.

“Fighting a war at sea is about combining the different capacities we have, including land and air, but also being able to fight simultaneously in the fields of submarines, naval aircraft, space and cyberspace,” he said.

The exercises will enable France to “win the war before the war”, he said.

The drills, which will partly extend to France’s Atlantic coast, will prepare the way for the stationing of a carrier strike group in February.

They are also designed to strengthen France’s ability to act as part of a military coalition.

Spain is bringing the frigate Mendez Nunez and the supply ship Cantabria to the exercises, which run until December 3.