From 12 May to 15 June 2025, the French Navy will be engaged in one of the largest exercises in recent years: Polaris 25The activity, announced by the Ministry of the Armed Forces in Paris, represents a crucial step in preparing for high-intensity conflict scenarios, involving thousands of soldiers and dozens of air and naval assets.
Over 3.000 participants, including French and foreign personnel. More than 20 surface units and over 40 aircraft will be deployed in a scenario that will develop between the Atlantic and the English Channel. The exercise is joint, combined and multi-domain, and sees the integrated participation of the French Army, Navy and Air Force, along with ships from allies and partners such as Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. Also included is a NATO battlegroup.
Polaris 25 It is a structuring exercise for the French Navy, conceived with a multi-disciplinary approach combat which goes from naval bases to the open sea, in conditions as realistic as possible. From amphibious combat in a hostile environment to responding to hybrid threats, through electronic warfare and operations in the information and cyber domain, everything will be simulated to test the operational readiness and resilience of the crews.
The activity, particularly ambitious in terms of duration and complexity, represents a test bench for the ability of the French Armed Forces to face a modern conflict, involving not only traditional domains but also space, the seabed and cyberspace.
The concept of Polaris, launched in 2021, is based on the strategic vision of the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, summarised in the principle “win the war before the war”The 2025 edition is also part of the “Marins de combats” plan of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, which aims to strengthen the immediate combat capacity of the French naval component and to guarantee its superiority in the air-maritime space.
Among the declared objectives, in addition to operational preparation, is the strengthening of interoperability between allied and partner forces, in an increasingly unstable and competitive international context.
Photo: National Marine
