Interoperability specialists from Systematic have successfully enabled British and French troops to work together in a single, joint divisional headquarters based in Mailly-le-Camp, France.

Exercise FLANDRES, which took place from 18-30 June 2011, has enabled the two nations to examine the levels of interoperability between a UK brigade and a French brigade working as part of a French division.

At the very heart of exercise FLANDRES, Systematic’s software provided the essential MIP gateway to demonstrate current interoperability between Britain’s ComBAT command and control application and the French SICF system.

Meanwhile, Systematic’s IRIS products were used to support the exchange of NATO and national formatted messages between the headquarters staffs.

The exercise, involving some 1,500 troops, was the first major event for the build-up of the British-French Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) as envisaged by Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, and French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, in the November 2010 defence treaty.