The Intelligence Command () is a

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

formation of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

formed following the end of the Cold War and expanded after the 2016 reorganisations.

Brigade

In 1993, following the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

and subsequent end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the French Army was completely reorganised. In 1993, the new structure began to take shape with the new Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Brigade () (BRGE) stood up in

Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. The brigade oversaw all

and specialist intelligence units assigned to the

Rapid Action Force The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force of India to deal with riot and crowd control situations. History RAF was raised on 11 December 1991 with headquarters in New Delhi. It became fully opera ...

. In 1998, following the end to

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, the army was again reorganised, and the brigade reduced in size and redesignated simply as the Intelligence Brigade (). In 2010, the brigade headquarters were shifted to

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, however shortly afterwards the headquarters moved back to Haguenau. By 2016 the brigade comprised around 3,600 soldiers and civilians. As part of the 2016 reorganisation of the French Army, the brigade was placed under the new Land Forces Command () and expanded to a two-star ( division)-sized command. During its tenure as a brigade-sized formation, the organisation was as follows: * Headquarters, Intelligence Brigade, in

** 44th Signals Regiment ''(44éme Régiment de Transmissions)'', in

Mutzig Mutzig ( or ; german: Mützig) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est, in north-eastern France. The commune of Mutzig is located at the entrance of the Bruche river valley, on the Route des Vins d'Alsace. History Evidences of h ...

–

Signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

** 54th Signals Regiment ''(54éme Régiment de Transmissions)'', in Haguenau –

Electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

** 2nd Regiment of Hussars ''(2éme Régiment de Hussars)'', in Haguenau – Human Intelligence **

13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment The 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes ( en, 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment) or 13e RDP is a special reconnaissance regiment of the French Army. It is a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command, the latter itself being under the Spec ...

''(13ème Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes)'', in

Martignas-sur-Jalle Martignas-sur-Jalle (; oc, Martinhàs de Jalas) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Historically, the town is known to have been the theater of the , where 500 to 600 longbowmen commanded by John Tal ...

– attached till 2002 and moved to the

French Army Special Forces Command The Army Special Forces Command (french: Commandement des forces spéciales Terre, COM FST) regroups the various special operations forces units of the French Army and is the command charged with overseeing them. It is based in Pau, Pyrénées- ...

** 61st Regiment of Artillery ''(61éme Régiment d'Artillerie)'', in

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C� ...

–

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

and Photo reconnaissance ** 28th Geographic Group ''(28éme Groupe Géographique)'', in

** Intelligence Troops Initial Formation Centre ''(Centre de Formation Initiale des Militaires du rang du Renseignement)'', in Bitche In the French Army, a unit designated as 'group' is a battalion equivalent unit in the combat support formations.

Command

Following the 2016 reforms, the Intelligence Command was formed on 1 July to oversee the intelligence and reconnaissance troops assigned to Land Forces Command. The command today controls; Multi-sensor intelligence, human intelligence, electromagnetic imagery, and geographic troops. Today the command overseas around 4,300 civilians and soldiers including 430 deployed in Opérations Extérieures (overseas deployments), in self-relief and 200 contributing to the permanent strategic watch from the garrison.

Mission

The command's mission is "the organic authority of the units of research, exploitation and military influence of the land forces. As such he he brigadeis responsible for the training and operational preparation.".

Current organisation

The current organisation of the command is: * Headquarters, Intelligence Command ''(Commandement du Rensuignement)'', in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

** 44th Signals Regiment ''(44éme Régiment de Transmissions)'', in

–

** 54th Signals Regiment ''(54éme Régiment de Transmissions)'', in Brens –

** 785th Electronic Warfare Company ''(785éme Compagnie Guerre Electronique)'', in

Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande (; ; Gallo: ''Saent-Jaq'') is a commune of Rennes Métropole in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population People from Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande are called ''jacquolandins'' in French ...

** 2nd Regiment of Hussars ''(2éme Régiment de Hussars)'', in Strasbourg – Human Intelligence ** 61st Regiment of Artillery ''(61éme Régiment d'Artillerie)'', in

–

and Photo reconnaissance ** 28th Geographic Group ''(28éme Groupe Géographique)'', in

** Joint Centre of Environmental Actions, in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

– Psychological intelligence ** Joint Intelligence Training Centre ''(Centre de Formation Interarmées au Renseignement)'', in Strasbourg ** Centre of Intelligence Assignment and Training ''(Centre d'Enseignement et d'Entraînement du renseignement de l'Armée de Terre)'', in

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

** Intelligence Troops Initial Formation Centre/151st Infantry Regiment ''(Centre de Formation Initiale des Militaires du rang du Renseignement / 151éme Régiment d'Infanterie)'', in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

– since 2019, previously in Bitche

References

{{French Army Divisions Army units and formations of France Army commands (military formations) Military intelligence units and formations Military units and formations established in 2016 2016 establishments in France

Brigade

Command

Mission

Current organisation

See also

References