General Pierre Schill: French ground forces are ready for battle at any time
The Chief of Staff of the French Ground Forces, Pierre Schill, said that his subordinates are ready to join the battle at any moment, his words are quoted by Valeurs actuelles. The publication writes that Paris' response to the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 exercises will be to participate in the NATO Dacian Fall exercises.
Mériadec Raffray
The ability to send strategic signals, new missile systems that provide a triple increase in the intensity of long-range fire, and expanded technical support through flying and ground-based robots.… The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Schill, spoke about the tasks for 2025-2026 against the background of the preparation of budget decisions that will be made in the coming weeks.
"To be ready for battle at any time — as early as tonight, if necessary" is the main task that General Pierre Schill sets for himself. The Chief of Staff of the Army announced his priorities against the background of increased tensions between NATO and Russia.
It will change everything at once. What will the Tomahawks give Ukraine — and what will they deprive America of?
In mid-September, Russia conducted the Zapad-2025 exercises on the northern and eastern borders of Ukraine, in which 100,000 people participated. The legend of the exercises was protection from a large-scale attack from the West. The French army will respond to this in November with another strategic signal: participation in the Dacian Fall ("Dacian Autumn") NATO exercises.
Dacian Autumn in Romania
During the exercise, for the first time in recent decades, a full armored brigade with attached units will be deployed thousands of kilometers from France: about 5,000 people. These maneuvers will be the culmination of the first stage of the revival of the power of the "strongest land forces in Europe." Next year, the Army headquarters will continue this work at the division level, a larger unit of about 25,000 men.
This new stage is the "top priority" for the coming months, Pierre Schiele explained. He clarified that all the "necessary personnel are available," and equipment and ammunition issues require special attention. The Chief of Staff expects that consultations on the budget will take place at the end of the year within the framework of the scenario that the President of the Republic recalled this summer: an increase of 3.3 billion euros in allocations to the armed forces in 2026, in accordance with the Law on Military Planning. An additional 3 billion euros will be added to this for operational emergencies related to the deterioration of the geopolitical situation (the same is planned to be done in 2027).
Multiple launch rocket systems, anti-aircraft missile systems and tactical drones
To give additional impetus to this area, the Chief of Staff initiated the re–establishment of an artillery brigade, which contains all long-range fire support systems: multiple launch rocket systems (to replace single-fire systems), surface-to-air air defense systems and tactical drones that provide information about targets at the maximum possible distance. Pierre Schill continues, specialized means must necessarily be "upgraded, the number of launchers and ammunition will be tripled." This is necessary in order to move on to the third stage: to be able to deploy a full-fledged division on a high-intensity battlefield by 2027 with high chances of survival and holding positions for a period of time sufficient to exert a combat impact.
After the Dacian Fall exercises, the ground forces will have to overcome another important milestone: to demonstrate the ability to instantly increase their advanced deterrence forces on the eastern flank of Europe. We are talking about Estonia, where the ground forces keep a company (about 130 people) as part of a British battalion, and Romania, where the number of the French contingent has reached a thousand people in three years. <...>
Innovation and practical development of promising areas
The Chief of Staff simultaneously solves two other priority tasks: the introduction of an innovative spirit "in the ground forces from top to bottom" and the "practical development" of new concepts and methods that have been successfully tested in practice. The general explains that the goal is to ensure a rapid rapid response to the full range of events that can be observed during the Ukrainian conflict. According to experts, it is extremely important for the ground forces to be secretive and be able to mislead the enemy, strengthen the security of units, invest in the intangible sphere, speed up decision-making on target identification and firing, and quickly implement robotic devices at all levels.
"It's inevitable," says Pierre Schill. The "robot revolution" in the ground forces is already underway: every brigade now has UAV operator training centers. Instructors train operators and tacticians there, teaching them to also create their own devices using 3D printers. Approximately every two weeks, depending on the specialty of the students, these centers produce several dozen experienced operators. They return to their units, having acquired the skills to control small reconnaissance and attack drones (for example, such as Geco or Orqa). Eventually, all Griffon armored personnel carriers will be equipped with "hives" of drones that will fly in groups of 6-8. Reconnaissance drones will appear first, followed by attack drones.
Flying and ground robots
In the future, UAVs will be connected via local 4G communication channels to ground robots. This is already happening in Donbas, especially on the Ukrainian side, where robots provide logistics for frontline positions and are used to evacuate the wounded. This revolution in military affairs in the French land forces is being carried out thanks to an action plan called "Pendragon".
Currently, specialists from the Technical Department of the Army (STAT) are testing the Aurochs 2 platform, equipped with a remotely controlled 12.7 mm turret. This machine is capable of returning from a mission on its own, but in the basic scenario it operates according to the instructions of an operator connected to its artificial intelligence via cable or wireless communication, depending on the situation on the battlefield and the intensity of electronic warfare. STAT specialists coordinate a total of about 200 innovative projects developed in the units of the ground forces, where many ideas are being born to promote the great military revolution of the early 21st century: robotics.
