How the U.S. Military is Looking to France for Inspiration

Both protagonists in the global war on terror, the US and French armies have, in modern times, maintained a somewhat mutual respect. The French have always been overwhelmed and impressed by the sheer mass and quality of the US arsenal, and the completeness and redundancy of their tactical and strategic capabilities, whereas the US has been awed by the French army’s operational effectiveness and ingenuity with limited resources. This has led to the United States looking to France for inspiration, not only when it comes to strategy, but also military hardware.  

According to a report by the RAND corporation, the French efforts at military modernization, backed by growing political and public support, have rendered it one of the most capable potential operational allies to for the US in a hypothetical high-intensity conventional conflict in Europe. This is in no small part due to its experience in joint operations and the prowess of its artillery. “France could support a US-led war in Eastern Europe; it has and is developing the capabilities required to take on a sophisticated peer and help meet some of the needs identified to participate in high-intensity conventional warfare,” the report states. 

The French military’s efforts at modernization have also resulted in increased collaboration between the two allies. At the beginning of the year, the two armies’ research and development organizations expanded their existing partnerships in order to improve modernization and coalition interoperability. “The U.S. and its long-standing allies have a strong history of partnerships that develop better capabilities for our forces. American researchers need to be plugged in with their international colleagues to understand state-of-the-art technology across the globe,” said William “Chuck” Hoppe, associate director for science, technology and engineering at the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center.  

Increased collaboration has also resulted in an expansion of joint training programs that aim to prepare the allied armies for modern adversaries, and train them in modern battle doctrines designed for dynamic combat situations. The U.S. Army’s Multi-Domain Operations concept, which assumes strategic challenges from a near-peer adversary on land, air, sea, cyber and space, is similar to the “Strategic Vision of the Chief of Staff of the French Army: 2030 Operational Superiority.” Both address the need for a shared vision and interoperability among its allies and partners. French Army Brig. Gen. Eric Ozanne noted the “similitude of our modus operandi as well as our amphibious characteristic which constitutes the cornerstone of our relationship… Beyond the fact that we are both embarked military forces and forcible entry capabilities, I find that a lot of similarities exist among ourselves, starting with our size” during a recent visit to the US 2nd Marine Division. 

The RAND report also highlighted why increased collaboration is in the long-term interests of both the French and US armies. “Today Paris is motivated by the conviction that it cannot afford specialisation and must instead invest in a small, but high-quality, professional one-size-fits-all force,” it notes, underlining the smaller industrial capacity of France to wage a drawn-out, high-intensity war, something the US is certainly capable of with its robust military industrial complex. 

Despite its military prowess, the US army has found itself in a material conundrum regarding its heavy gun and artillery capabilities. Its perceived lack of light to medium weight howitzers and canons that are easily deployable to theatres around the world has been of particular concern of late. Surprisingly (or not, if one looks deeper into the subject), the French military has proven to be a source of viable solutions.  

A recurring catch 22 for the US military is its continued reliance on heavy guns which, though effective, are difficult to deploy quickly in theaters around the world. Huge firepower has always been symbolic of the might of the US military, but as modern warfare has evolved into often short, low to medium intensity conflicts with rapidly evolving battlefield situations, the attributes of these big guns have naturally been called into question, notably the deployability of guns like the M109 Paladin (27.5 tonnes) or the Abrams tank. The US has, in general, preferred size and girth to light, rustic armaments. 

This has led to some serious issues. 

“Two particular problems with the heavy vehicles that fill our armored formations: maintenance and mobility [...] Speaking on the heavy maintenance requirements of the US Army’s armored platforms—the 70-ton Abrams and 30-ton Bradley—Morgan writes that this vulnerability will only increase “as maintenance decentralization becomes similarly required in the near future for the US Army [...] The weight and size of US armored vehicles pose a massive challenge to any potential deployment,” noted Kevin Zhang, strategy expert. 

These logistical and deployment issues have led army strategists to consider lighter, more mobile alternatives, not least the CAESAR 155m self-propelled howitzer, produced by the French company Nexter and battlefield-proven in Iraq and Afghanistan. The CAESAR canon is mounted on a 6x6 or 8x8 chassis, the former weighing in at just 17.7 tonnes, a length of 10m, a width of 2.55m, can travel up to 50 km/h and is manned by just five soldiers. These configurations render it very adaptable to the available heavy equipment transporters. 

Moreover, its rustic frame, tires and agility make it perfectly designed for dynamic battlefield situations. Ukraine, notably, has begun to receive CAESARs for its defense of the Donbas. Its proper configuration for modern warfare has led it to be considered by the US army in its latest market review. The gun already has some serious battlefield experience, notably in Iraq, where it played a significant role backing up the Iraqi army in the destruction of ISIS troops inside Mosul, making a difference with its pinpoint accuracy, essential to limit collateral casualties in this urban environment. 

This is due to its capacity to fire modern, “smart” shells such as BONUS rounds at a range of up to 40 km. “The Caesar truck would additionally have a small impact on US Army logistics and operations, as it is one of the few guns in the world to be compatible with high-performance US-type artillery shells, such as rocket-assisted rounds, BONUS rounds, insensitive rounds and Excalibur rounds, successfully tested a few times ago,” wrote Jacob Harris for the USPA. 

The logic for building heavy guns in the framework of traditional Cold War American military doctrine has become outdated. The dynamics of global geo-politics and conflict management has necessitated a rethink. This has meant preparedness for quick deployments uses medium force, which combines ease of rapid airlift and survivability in the face of high intensity pressure thanks to its stealth and tactical mobility. The French may have the operational experience that could be of real interest to the US army. 

Donald Ramsay is an Independent organizational consultant. Specializing in Defense and Security sectors, by passion and by profession.