The ‘Orion’ military exercise: A fictitious war, but a real test for French troops

Last week France launched Orion 23, a months-long military exercise involving thousands of troops, naval and land vehicles, aircraft and an aircraft carrier. The joint military exercise had been in the works since 2020, but as Western powers learned the lessons of the Ukraine war, Orion 23 grew bigger, more ambitious, multidimensional and has drawn in France’s main allies.