French Special Forces Held Secret Exercise to Counter Belarus Attack on Ukraine

French special forces conducted a classified series of exercises, codenamed Persée (Perseus), took place over several weeks in late 2024. According to the French security issues website “Intelligence Online.” the aim of the drills was to practice tactics, techniques and operational procedures should France need to respond to an attack on Ukraine by Belarus forces, 

French sources told the journal that the maneuvers were held in a training area that strongly resembled the terrain around the bend in the Dnipro River north of Kyiv. It included the entire land operations special forces command – Commandement des Actions Spéciales Terre (CAST) - along with more than 3,000 special forces commando units including the elite 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment (13e RDP).

The combat element was supported by intelligence analysts, CERES and CSO spy satellites, drones, counter-drone procedures and technology, signals intelligence and cyber warfare assets. All elements were reportedly deployed into tactical settings in camouflaged tented camps.

It seems probable that when French President Emmanuel Macron met with the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week he likely raised the possibility of European forces deploying to Ukraine, as he had done several times previously, and briefed him on Exercise Perseus.

One of the key operational components tested was the use of drones to try to capitalize on Ukraine’s experience of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). CAST deployed a mixed fleet of drones that included both the Parrot Anafi MK3 professional UAV and Chinese Mavic 3T commercial quadcopter drones, the latter having been acquired to fill what many think is a major capability gap for the French military.

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The Intelligence Online account also questioned why no first-person view (FPV) attack or AI enhanced drones were fielded. Several French military commentators have complained about the fact that French drone manufacturers have failed to keep up with modern UAV developments.

That may be because France’s arms procurement department, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), has not put forward an operational requirement for FPV drones or specified a need for AI-based enhancement of military surveillance and other systems. This despite what many now consider vital technologies for modern warfighting.