{"id":58263,"date":"2020-08-14T13:59:10","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T03:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=58263"},"modified":"2020-08-14T13:59:10","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T03:59:10","slug":"confronting-a-foreboding-future-the-french-armys-strategic-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/confronting-a-foreboding-future-the-french-armys-strategic-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Confronting a foreboding future: the French army\u2019s strategic vision"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

On 6 June 2020, without fanfare, the chief of the French army, General Thierry Burkhard, released his 10-year strategic vision for the Arm\u00e9e de Terre.<\/p>\n

The lack of pomp surrounding the launch of Burkhard\u2019s vision, appropriate to France\u2019s Covid-19 situation, doesn\u2019t diminish its significance. The French chief\u2019s approach clearly conveys prescience, purpose, uncomplicated principles and another point of convergence in the growing partnership between the Arm\u00e9e de Terre and the Australian Army.<\/p>\n

Before examining the content and characteristics of Burkhard\u2019s plan, it\u2019s worth reviewing its backdrop.<\/p>\n

There is broad acknowledgement that the Arm\u00e9e de Terre is undergoing its most consequential change since its 1996 \u2018professionalisation\u2019. Triggered in part by the strategic shock of France\u2019s 2015 terrorist attacks, this transformation encompasses force structure and design, force generation, funded modernisation and human resources.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Australian and French armies are pursuing an enhanced bilateral partnership founded on shared missions, agreements, objectives, philosophies, values, programs, opportunities, challenges and geography.<\/p>\n

Reflecting its substantial territorial holdings in the Indo-Pacific, its perspective of the near region\u2019s potential and its longstanding leadership ambition, France is actively reinforcing its regional presence, posture and pursuit of both common and unilateral objectives. This reinforcement is manifesting in cooperation between the Arm\u00e9e de Terre\u2019s highly capable elements in New Caledonia and the Australian Army\u2019s combat formations and training centres.<\/p>\n

Prescience is a key feature of the Burkhard manifesto. Consistent with Australia\u2019s recent\u00a0defence strategic update\u00a0<\/a>and the\u00a0army chief\u2019s command statement<\/a>, the general paints a bleak picture of the coming decade. He acknowledges mounting pressure on the European project and the international status quo, increasing employment of emerging technologies for coercive and disruptive means, the acceleration of \u2018grey zone\u2019 activities, and escalating internal tensions.<\/p>\n

In addition, consistent with the French army\u2019s prognosis on future land warfare, Burkhard infers the end of three prevailing premises: Western military superiority, the trend of limited wars, and efficiency as the cornerstone of political\u2013military thinking. In this context, \u2018efficiency\u2019 means deploying the best-tailored forces, drawn from compact techno-professional armies, to achieve a disproportionate political, operational and reputational impact\u2014with the bare minimum of boots on the ground.<\/p>\n

Finally, Burkhard portends high-intensity, multidomain, state-on-state conflict, testing France\u2019s resilience in a manner unseen since World War II, triggered well within traditional warning times.<\/p>\n

In response, he presents the Arm\u00e9e de Terre as central to France\u2019s enduring security, stability and prosperity. Burkhard communicates a resolute purpose for the army. He seeks to strengthen its ability to operate, lead, fight and win\u2014no matter the threat or contingency. His goal is for a reinforced land force whose legions are characterised by superior warfighting mass and technology that can rapidly deploy, readily integrate, adapt and persist across all domains. Remarkably, he identifies the Arm\u00e9e de Terre as a strategic capability in its own right\u2014a deterrent role (and prestige) traditionally reserved for France\u2019s nuclear maritime and air forces.<\/p>\n

Burkhard articulates four actionable and uncomplicated principles to strengthen the Arm\u00e9e de Terre\u2019s preparedness. Recognising that the French soldier is at the heart of its capability, the first principle is to optimise the potential and professionalism of the army\u2019s people. Second, the army will master the new capabilities and technologies offered by its unprecedented modernisation, \u2018changing the way it operates and fights\u2019. A transformation in the level, frequency and intensity of multidomain warfighting and partnership-oriented training is probably the most avant-garde aspect of Burkhard\u2019s vision. It\u2019s the key he will use to unlock his ambition for a land force characterised by superior mass and technology. The French chief identifies this endeavour as his most important to ensure the army\u2019s future readiness. Finally, he seeks to reduce the Arm\u00e9e de Terre\u2019s \u2018bureaucratic tempo\u2019, thereby gaining time and improving internal agility, flexibility and responsiveness.<\/p>\n

Supporting Burkhard\u2019s approach is an action plan involving 12 projects. These incorporate human resources, modernisation, innovation, doctrine, training, sustainment, reserve force and process reforms.<\/p>\n

It may surprise some that in most aspects, and certainly the ones that matter most, Burkhard\u2019s vision for the Arm\u00e9e de Terre is nearly indistinguishable from his Australian counterpart\u2019s intent statements<\/a>. There\u2019s also an affinity between the French chief\u2019s prescience, purpose and plan and that conveyed by Australia\u2019s recent defence strategic update and force structure plan<\/a>\u2014particularly the elements referring to strategic context and land power response. This convergence bodes well for two armies committed to working together in pursuit of compatible interests in Australia\u2019s increasingly contested region and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 6 June 2020, without fanfare, the chief of the French army, General Thierry Burkhard, released his 10-year strategic vision for the Arm\u00e9e de Terre. The lack of pomp surrounding the launch of Burkhard\u2019s vision, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":425,"featured_media":58267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2795,325,279,291],"class_list":["post-58263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-defence-strategic-update","tag-europe","tag-force-structure","tag-france"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConfronting a foreboding future: the French army\u2019s strategic vision | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/confronting-a-foreboding-future-the-french-armys-strategic-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Confronting a foreboding future: the French army\u2019s strategic vision | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 6 June 2020, without fanfare, the chief of the French army, General Thierry Burkhard, released his 10-year strategic vision for the Arm\u00e9e de Terre. 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