Balancing dispersion and discretion, agility and protection, French command posts are evolving to better survive against new threats, starting with the ubiquitous drones. A case in point is the one recently deployed by the 7th Armored Brigade in Romania for Exercise Dacian Fall. 

The relative operational comfort of Afghanistan or Mali now seems a distant memory for command posts that have once again become vulnerable. Protecting themselves from a competitor capable of detecting, jamming, and destroying deep behind enemy lines requires adapting, drawing inspiration from the lessons learned in Ukraine. Whether technical, tactical, or organizational, all-around innovation is becoming the norm to gain stealth and agility on a battlefield that is more transparent than ever before.

Organized by NATO from late October to mid-November, Dacian Fall also served as a testing ground for progress on this issue. ”  Many innovations were deployed during this exercise  ,” explained Brigadier General Maxime Do Tran while the exercise was still in full swing. Here, there were no NATO directives, but rather a distinctly French desire to test in situ alternative means of remaining ”  as operational as possible given the context ,” noted the commander of the 7th Armored Brigade.

So, the ”  large main command post  ,” deemed too cumbersome, too complex, and too centralized, is out. ”  We have drastically reduced the size of our command post  ,” explains the commander, whose staff received NATO accreditation during Operation Dacian Fall. While it can now operate in support of a multinational NATO division, it has simultaneously become a priority target. To avoid destruction, this critical link between the division and the battle groups now comprises fewer than 70 personnel, compared to 120 to 150 previously.

The tactical command center is shrinking, but its decision-making capacity is being strengthened by a new asset: the forward data hub (DHA), a land-based variant of the onboard data hub used by the French Navy. Inside this digital brain, an artificial intelligence layer provided by one of France’s leading companies, Mistral AI, is tasked with processing the mountains of data fed into it to streamline the decision-making process. An initial set of functionalities was tested during Operation Dacian Fall. Aside from a translation function particularly useful in a multinational command center, the DHA contributed to optimizing logistical routes based on the axes and resources deployed—an operation otherwise performed using time-consuming Excel spreadsheets.

This DHA will also have participated in the analysis of the enemy and the terrain. ”  How is the enemy structured? How might they organize themselves? What are the defenses, the bridge classes? What is the condition of the roads? ” General Do Tran lists as examples. The scope of applications is far from defined. While there is no question yet of allowing this AI to participate in writing orders, “we could get there” by initially expanding its scope to include “post-order review,” General Do Tran believes.

Compacter and better-protected tactical command posts using VBCI VPC and Griffon EPC vehicles
(Image credit: EMA COM)

This “lighter,” and therefore more mobile, command post is complemented by the 7th Armored Brigade with even lighter structures. Composed of about fifteen soldiers and a handful of armored vehicles, these forward command posts will be dispersed and then ”  switched on or off  ” as needed and as the maneuver progresses. Closer to the front lines, they can, for example, take charge of a specific maneuver to relieve the main command post, such as crossing a water obstacle. Their lightness also allows them to move several times a day to better avoid enemy detection.

This dispersal is made possible in particular by the arrival of Griffon EPC armored vehicles and by communication networks made more resilient through hybridization. For example, the Hydre module complements hardened military communications by allowing a switchover to the local 4G/5G mobile network or to the OneWeb satellite constellation. The advantages are numerous: greater redundancy and the ability to integrate with civilian networks, albeit at the cost of reduced security. ”  And I also gain range. I can now command a forward command post located 50, or even 70 km away  ,” observes General Do Tran.

Data flows are evolving within the command posts themselves. The 7th Armored Brigade’s command post is experimenting with Li-Fi ( Light Fidelity ), a wireless communication technology based on light. Here too, the advantages are numerous. Beyond its high data rate, Li-Fi relies on elevated transmitters and computer receivers. This reduces cabling, a feature ”  particularly valuable when in contact with the enemy and having to dismantle or assemble a command post  ,” observes General Do Tran. Above all, the beam only radiates a few meters and therefore helps prevent jamming or interception while reducing the command post’s electromagnetic footprint. 

Between reducing emissions and visual signature, command posts are now trying to disappear from the landscape. On the one hand, this is achieved through the new FENRIR camouflage nets currently being deployed, and on the other, by relying more heavily on deception. Another notable development is the introduction of inflatable decoys, which now allows the 7th Armored Brigade to construct a completely fake command post to attract attention and create a dilemma for the enemy. The inflatable version of the Griffon is one component of this “decoy command post,” deployed elsewhere but reproducing ”  radiation and thermal quality comparable to a normal command post  .”

Faced with drones, the command posts also deploy… drones. This is hardly surprising, since the systems operated by the protection platoon serve both to monitor the surrounding area and to verify the thermal and visual signature of the drone. Jammers are also used, ”  since 80% of the fight against drones relies on jamming  .” And if a drone, whether equipped with fiber optics or not, manages to locate the command post and breach the various defenses, there will always be ”  a last-minute battle with 12-gauge shotguns or drone-versus-drone combat ,” notes General Do Tran.

Image credits: EMA COM