Amid the military spectacle of a State Visit by the President of France, British and French paratroopers have trained together to be ready to deploy on operations together.
French paratroopers jumped in the skies of Oxfordshire under British parachutes on Tuesday (8 Jul) as His Majesty The King and Emmanuel Macron drove in a ceremonial carriage procession through Windsor, along streets lined by personnel from the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Some 20 soldiers from the French 11e Brigade Parachutiste (11e BP) trained to use the British militarys Low Level Parachute system at No 1 Parachute Training School at RAF Brize Norton. After a day of ground training to build familiarity with the kit and procedures, the French paratroopers did a parachute jump to earn their Bonds of Friendship wings.
The training was part of the Airborne Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (ACJEF), a partnership between 16 Air Assault Brigade and 11e BP. Both brigades serve as their armies rapid response forces and have been trained and ready to deploy together in response to global crises since 2013. The ACJEF is at the forefront of the Franco-British military co-operation initiated by the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties, which agreed to greater military integration and closer collaboration in research and technology to strengthen our security.
To read more, please click here.














