The French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) led by aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) left Tuesday from its homeport of Toulon on its first deployment of the year to take part in the French Armed Forces multidomain readiness exercise.

The large-scale exercise – dubbed ORION 26 – will begin Feb. 8 and will involve a total of 10,000 personnel. The ORION 26 scenario will simulate France leading a coalition to protect the fictitious country of “Arnland” from expansionist country “Mercure.”

“A fictional but credible scenario, inspired by NATO standards, to recreate all forms of modern combat, from hybrid threat to high intensity, and to test our forces in some of the most realistic combat conditions,” reads a press kit on the exercise.

For the exercise, the French Army will deploy three brigades, and the French Air Force will deploy 40 aircraft, of which half will be fighter aircraft.

The French Navy did not disclose the composition of participating ships, official imagery of the departure shows a Horizon-class destroyer, a FREMM-class frigate and fleet oiler FS Jacques Chevallier (A725) operating as part of the CSG.

Along with the Charles De Gaulle CSG, which will operate with 20 embarked Rafale-M fighter aircraft, an amphibious task group will also be deployed. A total of 25 major naval ships and submarines are expected to take part in ORION 25.

Italian Navy destroyer ITS Andrea Doria (D553) also departed Toulon as part of the Charles De Gaulle CSG. Andrea Doria’s attachment to the French CSG forms a preparatory phase for the upcoming training activities of the Italian Navy’s Littoral Expeditionary Group (LEG) 26 deployment, according to a news release from the Italian Navy.

The LEG 26 task force, which will take part in ORION 26, includes Andrea Doria and amphibious transport dock ITS San Giusto (L9894), as well as a landing force drawn from the 1st Regiment of the San Marco Marine Brigade. The LEG will also participate in NATO exercises Dynamic Guard in early March and Joint Warrior 26 in mid-March before returning to the Mediterranean to participate in Italy’s national exercise Mare Aperto 26 in May.

“This activity is part of a broader process of developing and consolidating expeditionary capabilities, an essential tool for responding to the challenges posed by the current international security landscape, characterized by trans-regional crises, systemic instability and the need for rapidly deployable, flexible and interoperable forces,” reads the Italian Navy news release.

In all, 24 countries will participate in the drills in various capacities, though France has not disclosed the specific countries or assets that will be involved.

Meanwhile, Spanish and Turkish amphibious task groups are scheduled to participate in NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2026, NATO’s largest exercise of the year and the first large-scale peacetime deployment of the new Allied Reaction Force (ARF). The field training phase will begin Feb.7.

“The aim of Steadfast Dart 2026 is to test the ARF’s deployable capabilities and procedures, under the command of JFC Brunssum, as well as interoperability among troop contributing nations and the host nation,” reads a NATO news release on the exercise.

The deployment phase of the exercise began Jan. 15 with troops deploying to Germany, the primary location of the drill. Taking part in the exercise are 10,000 service members from 11 nations, including Italy, Greece, Germany, Czechia, Spain, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The exercise will also be supported by troops from France, Belgium and the U.K., which are linking national exercises with Steadfast Dart 2026.

Spain will deploy amphibious landing platform dock ESPS Castilla (L52) and frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F105) for Steadfast Dart 26. Frigate ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon (F102) – part of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1) – will also take part in Steadfast Dart 2026. Fleet oiler ESPS Patiño (A14) will join SNMG-1 on Feb. 6, according to a Spanish Ministry of Defense news release.

The Anadolu Turkish Maritime Task Group are expected to participate, as well. The task group includes amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu (L-400), frigates TCG Istanbul (F515) and TCG Kınalıada (F514) and fast combat support ship TCG Derya (A-1590).

The Turkish Navy is holding the duties of NATO Commander Amphibious Task Force (CATF) and Commander Landing Force (CLF), within the NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF), from Jul. 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, according to a Turkish Ministry of Defense news release. As part of its responsibilities, the Anadolu Turkish Maritime Task Group will operate in the Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, North Sea, Baltic Sea and Adriatic Sea until April 23. Over the next three months, the task group will participate in NATO exercises Steadfast Dart 2026, Northern Quadriga 2026 and Dynamic Mariner and NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike 26.1.