The French Bulle Operationnelle Aeroterrestre: France has provisionally determined the shape of its 'Army 2025'. The service will retain its two armoured brigades at the heavy end of the spectrum and its airborne and army aviation brigades at the light end. In the middle its two mechanised and light armoured brigades will be standardised as four light armoured brigades.

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How this army will operate will be determined by the Bulle Operationnelle Aeroterrestre (air-land operational bubble) networked air-land warfare concept.

The Delegation Generale Pour L'Armement (DGA) awarded a Thales-led team a 129 million [euro] contract on 8 December 2005 to develop a Boa concept demonstrator over the period between 2006 and 2012. The team has two layers, with Thales, Sagem and Giat at the top and mainly MBDA and other Thales concerns beneath. The contract had been expected; Defence Minister Miche1e Alliot-Marie announced at Eurosatory in June 2004 the government's intention to award the contract and the industry consortium was formed prior to the exhibition.

The contract covers three primary components:

* The establishment of France's first integrated battlelab, Laboratoire Technico-Operationnel, a collaborative development tool that will be used by the DGA, industry and the French Army to analyse the latter's future missions

* A system of systems engineering study to identify advanced architectures and technologies for the army's future armoured fighting vehicles and other systems such as unmanned ground and unmanned air vehicles

* The design and development of the Tactic (Technologies et Architectures du Combat aeroTerrestre Info-valorise au Contact) network-enabled architecture and technology demonstrator.

The Boa will integrate equipment now in service, such as the Leclerc tank, equipment soon to enter service, such as the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter, and equipment expected to be fielded in 2020.

Felin

Building from the soldier up the army will soon introduce the first version of the Felin integrated soldier system. Sagem is the prime contractor for the 796 million [euro] project to deliver 31,600 Felin sets to equip 20 infantry regiments and support armoured cavalry, artillery and engineer units. In June 2006 Sagem is scheduled to deliver 358 Felin V1 sets to equip two infantry companies for evaluation and trials. Delivery of production sets is set to begin in mid-2007 with the goal of equipping two-thirds of the infantry by the end of 2008. In approximately 2015 the army will begin fielding an improved Felin V2 that will be fully integrated into the service's Boa network-enabled warfare concept. This includes a miniature Bertin-based, electrically powered ducted fan drone (see cover picture). Called the Odin; now undergoing tests.

The Felin schedule mirrors the army's two-phase transition. In the period between 2005 and 2015 the service will concentrate primarily on upgrade projects. Work is already underway on upgrading 256 AMX 10RC reconnaissance vehicles, 160 ERC 90 armoured cars and a portion of the 3900-strong VAB armoured personnel carrier fleet. From about 2010 upgrade work will begin on the Leclerc tank. The service's only significant fighting vehicle acquisition project in this period is the Giat 8 x 8 VBCI. Giat is scheduled to deliver the first production VBCI in 2008.

The Army has ordered 550 infantry fighting vehicles (designated the Vehicule de Combat d'Infanterie), 150 command vehicles (Vehicule Poste de Commandement) and is planning specialist variants including anti-tank, mortar, engineer and mobile gun systems. The fielding of the VBCI and Felin VI will be conducted in parallel providing the first elements of the army's future networked capability. France will also field the Eurocopter Tiger Helicoptere d'Appui Protection in this period.

EB2X

In the 2015 to 2025 timeframe France will give priority to new vehicles to replace the AMX-10RC and Vab used by the medium brigades, as well as the ERC 90, Vabs and VBLs in service with light forces. The Engin Blinde Median/Contact (EBM/C) is planned to replace the AMX 10RC from 2015. Under the designation EB2X, Giat has undertaken concept work for the DGA over the past several years. Initial studies examined a 6 x 6 16-tonne vehicle armed with the 40 mm Case Telescoped Weapon System and a 24-tonne 8 x 8 armed with a 105mm electro-thermal chemical gun in a two-person turret. These designs have morphed into the 25-tonne (maximum) 6 x 6 EBM/C armed with a 40 mm CTWS, missile pods and an active protection system. The army tentatively plans to complete project definition in 2007 and begin a development programme that could lead to production in 2015.

Projected to enter service in 2020 to replace 1000 Vabs is the EBM/P; this is projected to weigh 20 tonnes and carry five personnel or up to two tonnes of cargo. While the most important characteristics of the EBM/C will be protection and lethality the key characteristics of the EBM/P will be modularity and payload. To replace 160 ERC 90s the army wants a ten-tonne vehicle, named Brams, that could carry five personnel or up to two tonnes of cargo.

During this second modernisation period the army expects to field the more capable Felin V2 ensemble and the Tiger He1icoptere Appui Destruction variant. The army plans a new short-range missile to replace the AT4CS and Eryx, a new medium-range missile to replace the Milan 3 and a new long-range missile to replace the Hot. Thus by 2025 the French Army hopes to have modernised its light, medium and heavy forces that will be fully networked to work across the spectrum of conflict both on national and multi-national joint operations.