"The next two weeks will see French and British servicemen and women training side by side on the sea, on land and in the air. Together with Admiral Laurent Isnard, my French counterpart, we are anxious to demonstrate that our military partnership is now on a new level and show how the combined UK-France Combined Joint Task Force in the most testing of circumstances, stands shoulder to shoulder," Standing Joint Force Commander Major General Stuart Skeates said, as quoted by the statement.
French troops have begun arriving ahead of the drills, which will take place in locations across the United Kingdom, such as North Yorkshire, the Salisbury Plain and off the south and west coasts of England, according to the ministry.
The CJEF is a deployable force that may be used in a wide range of scenarios, including combat operations. The force is mainly expected to be tasked with crisis management, evacuation operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. In 2012, France and the United Kingdom said that the force was expected to reach full operational capacity in 2016.