France: Military Alliances
Question
James Cartlidge
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship, published on 09 July 2025, what will be the command structure of the 50,000 strong combined joint force.
Answer
Luke PollardDetailed planning of the Combined Joint Force (CJF), evolving from the currently existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is currently under way with French colleagues following the UK-France declaration announcement.
The current command structure of the CJEF under its Concept of Employment (CONEMP) is of a single operational commander provided by the UK or France, appointed by both nations, following nomination from the CJEF Strategic Coordination Team (SCT) which is jointly led for the UK by Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) and for France by SCOPS.