As at the previous editions, Eurosatory 2024 features dynamic demonstrations of the who’s who of French Police & Gendarmerie Special Forces, reports Carl Schulze.
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The French Police and Gendarmerie Special Forces units participating in the dynamic displays at Eurosatory 2024 are: BRI PP (Brigade de Recherché et d’Intervention of the Prefecture de Paris); RAID (Recherché, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion) and GIGN (Groupe d’intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale).
BRI PP demonstrated the neutralisation of a suicide bomber. In a follow-up mission the unit’s operators then conducted an assault on the hide-out of the group the terrorist belonged to. During the assault the operators employed a Petit Véhicule Protégé (PVP) and made their entry through a wall using a wall charge. For reconnaissance purposes the assault team employed a modified DJI Avata quadrocopter.
The demonstration of GIGN was set in a foreign country in which the security situation had deteriorated. As part of the demonstration a GIGN team had to master several threats while extracting a French VIP. Initially, on its way to the rendezvous point, the team had to deal with a road block, that also featured an IED. Here the team’s integral dog handler and service dog were employed, as well as its explosives specialist. Once the VIP was on board the teams SUVs, the convoy came under attack by small arms fire and was attacked with grenades. In the following firefight the team neutralised the enemy, employing several weapons, including a 5.56 mm MINIMI light machine gun and a 66mm LAW light anti-tank weapon.
The scenario of the RAID demonstration was centred around the upcoming Olympic games in Paris. A cell of three terrorists had hijacked the bus of a football team. The RAID team stopped the bus, stormed it, neutralised the terrorists and freed the hostages. The assault was conducted simultaneously. While RAID operators entered the bus from the front, another teams assaulted in from the rear, entering it at the same time over the roof and through the rear door. During the assault one hostage was wounded. The casualty was immediately evacuated and the unit’s own medics took care of this.
[Text and images © Carl Schulze 2024]
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