French troops will take part in a large-scale military exercise called Dacian Spring 2025 in Romania, according to Politico.
The drills, to be held next May, would assess France’s ability to shift rapidly to NATO’s eastern flank in the event of a perceived threat. The head of the Army’s land command in Europe, General Bertrand Toujouse, said on Friday, 4 October, that such exercises should be treated as “strategic signals.”
We used to play war. Now there’s a designated enemy, and we train with people with whom we’d actually go to war.
In the last few years, French ground forces began a “profound transformation” to be ready for a high-intensity conflict similar to the war in Ukraine. Paris also received new orders from NATO to be able to deploy a combat-ready division in 30 days, including ammunition and supplies, by 2027.
The French army will train to send a combat-ready brigade to Romania in 10 days. The interim step, if successful, will reaffirm France’s credibility with NATO allies and pave the way for the 2027 goal.
However, defence spending must be in line with France’s seven-year military planning law to meet the 2027 target, General Pierre Schill, commander of the French army, warned. The defence budget is under pressure as France’s new government seeks to curb the country’s deficit.
I expect the planned resources to be there in full. If there are major changes, at some point we may delay [the 2027 objective], saying that there aren’t enough stocks to take them into combat.
Militarisation gaining momentum
Lithuania was also holding Gelezinis Vilkas 2024-II (Iron Wolf 2024-II) drills involving troops from NATO countries, the Ministry of National Defence revealed on Monday.
The international exercise Gelezinis Vilkas 2024-II begins on 7 October. Until 17 October, the exercise will take place at the General Sylvester Žukauskas Training Range. More than 3,200 Lithuanian and allied soldiers with 700 pieces of military equipment will take part.
Soldiers from the United States, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg take part in the drills aimed at fully integrating NATO’s forward battle group.
In the face of a growing threat near its borders, Russia announced an updated nuclear doctrine. Moscow made the announcement to rule out further escalation and dispel doubts about the country’s readiness to “ensure its security by all available means,” according to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. He emphasised that Russia’s actions were a response to NATO’s “provocative” actions.
