Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (the French Air and Space Force) has officially announced its readiness for one of this year’s major military exercises, Orion 2026. This training event, comprising complex air operations across all domains of conflict, will take place between 8 February and 1 March 2026.
The Orion exercise is a live-flying, joint training activity involving the French and allied air forces , conducted over mainland France, primarily along the Atlantic coast. This large-scale exercise constitutes a significant milestone in the operational preparation of the armed forces, with the French Air and Space Force at its core.
Preparations for Orion 2026 began at the start of the year. On 5 January, at the military command centre in Cinq-Mars-la-Pile (part of Base aérienne 705 / the 705th Air Base “François et Jean Tulasne” at Tours), Commandement de la Défense Aérienne et des Opérations Aériennes (the Air Defence and Air Operations Command) established the Joint Operations Command Centre for the exercise. The unit is responsible for planning and supervising the air operations of Orion 2026, in close coordination with the naval and land components of the French Armed Forces, as well as with the support of cyber defence, information technology and logistics specialists.
The dynamic phase of Orion 2026 will take place between 8 February and 1 March, and will feature a large number of units from the French Air and Space Force. According to the official press release, the aircraft participating in the exercise will be based at the following five French air bases: Mont-de-Marsan, Cazaux, Orléans, Istres and Tours. Air operations will be supported by the national Centre air de planification et de conduite des opérations de la défense aérienne (the Air Defence Operations Planning and Command Centre), located at Base aérienne 942 (the 942nd Air Base) at Lyon-Mont Verdun. This extensive involvement of aviation units and air bases is intended to demonstrate the French Air and Space Force’s ability to orchestrate large-scale combat operations across the entire territory of mainland France.
Another objective of Orion 2026 is to demonstrate the ability to be the first to enter a high-intensity conflict and achieve air superiority, showcasing French air power in the process. This task is going to be accomplished through a complex air operation integrating multiple units and combined forces, to protect the territory from all types of external threat, including fighter and transport aircraft, reconnaissance drones, ground-based air defence systems and space assets.
Orion 2026 will also be supported by another exercise, launched in parallel by Commandement de l’Espace (the Space Command) and codenamed Spartex. Within that training, the French space forces will engage in a combined manner to support military aviation in its role of territorial protection within the modern combat environment.
Following the initial air superiority phase of Orion 2026, other branches of the French Armed Forces will conduct joint operations. First, the French Navy will intervene in Brittany and the Saint-Nazaire area. Subsequently, the French Army will carry out a deep-entry deployment, supported by a major airborne operation launched from Orléans Air Base towards the exercise area.
As stated by the French Ministry of Defence, Orion 2026 will involve up to 12,500 personnel at its peak, including 1,500 airmen from the French Air and Space Force.
Information from the press releases of the French Ministry of Defence – published on the MoD page in January 2026 – were used, in accordance to the etalab-2.0 licence.
