France joined the South African Navy’s annual force preparation exercise, Red Lion, which concluded in late August 2025.
The Navy conducted the three-week program across multiple sites nationwide. It put naval crews, vessels and support units through a series of drills designed to sharpen their abilities in diverse scenarios from maritime combat to disaster response, Military Africa reported. The exercise involved military personnel and civilian agencies.
The operation emphasized practical simulations that mirrored real-world challenges such as civil unrest and natural disasters affecting public safety and security. It included simulated media interactions to handle public communications during crises, briefings on search and rescue protocols, vessel-to-shore radio links, security measures around naval installations, and aviation safety standards, Military Africa reported.
A key feature came two weeks into the exercise, when drills off Durban highlighted cross-agency cooperation. In a coordinated maritime rescue simulation, the Navy teamed up with the National Sea Rescue Institute, the South African Police Service, the Customs Marine Unit and the South African Air Force, defenceWeb reported. The joint effort underscored the value of unified action in emergency settings, where rapid and synchronized responses can make all the difference.
The initial at-sea sessions featured a mock fast inshore assault by a harbor patrol boat approaching from port and starboard sides of a frigate and a patrol vessel. Other operations included live gunnery practice, towing maneuvers, maintaining flying stations, deploying boarding craft, weapons handling drills and exercises involving navigational charts.
At one point, the French Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Auguste Techer joined in what appeared to be a passage exercise. The ship made a stopover in South Africa that included a visit to the South African Naval Museum, defenceWeb reported.
Before heading offshore, Western Cape units tackled a series of shore-based simulations. These included responses to bomb threats with building evacuations, shipboard fires, and increased perimeter security around military facilities and a dockyard, Military Africa reported.