Sheltered behind a hillside, a telepilot in fatigues launches a minidrone and begins a reconnaissance of the nearby village. “The goal is to get information on enemy positions,” explains Chief Warrant Officer Ludovic, who oversees the exercise at the Army Combat Training Center, located in the Dawn. In a second step, the pilot and his teammate will have to propose to their hierarchy the best possible tactical plan to capture the village. A way of waging war that did not exist a few years ago, and to which the French Army is becoming more seasoned every day.
“There is a need for massification of these capacities” warns General Seiler, before rewarding the best teams of the day. The lack of drone equipment in our armies is not new. Parliamentary reports already attested to this in 2017, explaining that France “missed the decisive turning point in drones”. The Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, himself recently acknowledged this to parliamentarians. Where does this delay come from? Is he about to be caught? Have our manufacturers lacked vision? Discover our long video format, to be found here as well as on L’Express YouTube page.