Two French Navy ships sailed out of Toulon earlier this week for a five-month training deployment to the Indo-Pacific.
The Mistral-class landing helicopter dock Dixmude (pictured) and the La Fayette-class frigate Aconit departed Toulon along with their complement of naval infantry troops, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles for the navy's annual Jeanne D'Arc deployment.
The ships have also embarked a total of 162 officer cadets, as the deployment will include both training exercises and actual operations at sea.
The contingent will visit Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, Djibouti, Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Singapore as well as the French overseas territories of Mayotte and Reunion in the Indian Ocean. At each visit, the contingent will conduct exercises with the host nation's armed forces as well as French forces stationed there.
This year's deployment will also see both ships participate in the Balikatan joint military exercises in the Philippines. This will so far be the largest French military contingent to participate in the exercises, which have been held in the Philippines every year since 2001.