The employment doctrine of the
Arme blindée et cavalerie includes the traditional missions of the
cavalry adapted to a modern context: • Rupture of the front, using the charge (jointly with
aviation); • Exploitation of this rupture, thanks to the speed of movement given by motorized and all-terrain vehicles • Cover of a retreat, a friendly body, a void between two friendly bodies by mask effect • Reconnaissance (but in an increasingly limited way, aviation, radars and satellites having largely supplanted it in this mission) Since the end of the
USSR, the usefulness of the armoured troops has sometimes been questioned, however it has participated in all major external operations in
Bosnia,
Lebanon,
Africa and
Afghanistan. For the latter country, it is clear that the terrain lends itself poorly to the use of armored vehicles: a strong relief making maneuvers complicated, the French armored cavalry deployed has less than 120 men, or less than 3% of the workforce. Finally, the regiments saw their number of squadrons reduced but 20% of them are also permanently projected. == List of regiments ==