Amid the brewing tensions in Europe, reports are emerging that the French military launched anti-drone measures after detecting five unauthorised drones flying over a base
Amid the brewing tensions in Europe, reports are emerging that the French military launched
anti-drone measures after detecting five unauthorised drones flying over a base. The sightings were concerning, as the base housed nuclear ballistic submarines in northwestern France.
According to AFP, the base, located on the peninsula of Ile Longue off the coast of Brittany, is used to store France’s four nuclear ballistic submarines. It is pertinent to note that the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture, a French government department, is responsible for protecting this part of the coast.
The body’s spokesperson, Guillaume Le Rasle, told AFP that the sensitive infrastructure was not threatened by the drone sighting. The drone violation, they believed, was “intended to alarm the public.”
France launches counter-drone search operation
According to French news outlet Le Monde, a counter-drone and search operation was launched shortly after the mysterious sightings. As per the report, the marine rifle battalion responsible for protecting the base opened fire, though it is not known whether any of the drones were shot down.
The incident took place just days after reports of a drone incident off Ireland’s west coast on Monday bear a striking resemblance to this one. The drones crossed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s flight path into Dublin Airport moments after his plane had passed.
At that time, four to five drones were said to have circled the LÉ William Butler Yeats, an Irish naval vessel secretly deployed off Dublin’s coast as part of the security arrangements for Zelensky’s visit. The drones in Ireland reportedly hovered above the vessel with its lights on as if “they wanted to be seen.”
These incidents have been part of a wider pattern of airspace violations by drones across Europe since September 10, when 19 drones crossed over the Polish airspace from Belarus. While Europe has blamed Russia for the drone sightings, the Kremlin generally denied responsibility for the violations.
With inputs from AFP.
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