French forces intercept drones near nuclear submarine base
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A submarine is seen at the Ile Longue naval base in western France in December 2016. Photo: Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images
French forces responded on Thursday night to unknown drones flying over a military base that hosts nuclear-armed submarines, a French official confirmed to Axios.
The big picture: This is the latest in a string of mysterious incursions into high-security European airspace. The incidents have sparked suspicions of Russian hybrid warfare — but Moscow has not been directly implicated and little is known thus far about the incident in western France.
Driving the news: The French official told Axios that "overflights were detected above the Crozon Peninsula" on Thursday night.
- "The military personnel stationed on the peninsula and responsible for site protection responded promptly and appropriately, in full accordance with the procedures in force. An investigation is underway," the official said.
- The official noted it is illegal to fly drones over military sites, and that the protocol in such circumstances is to jam the aircraft.
- Sources told AFP there were five drones spotted in total, and that no links to foreign actors have been established.
Three days earlier, five large drones were spotted near Dublin Airport along the flight path of the arriving Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Irish media.
- The Irish Times reported that officials viewed it as a potential attempt to disrupt flights at the airport, rather than to attack Zelensky.
- Drone sightings forced airspace closures in Belgium in November and Denmark, Norway and Germany in September.
- The Danish government referred to the drone activity there as a hybrid attack, but did not publicly point the finger at Russia.
Reality check: Critical infrastructure — military bases, power stations, airports and more — are largely unprepared for today's drone threat. Stateside drone mania this time last year underscored just how fragmented policy, communications and countermeasures are.
The intrigue: These could be intentional intrusions designed to test response times and interception tech. They could be surveillance missions. Or they could be the carelessness of a hobbyist.
- But the French base at the center of this week's concern, Ile Logue, is home to four nuclear ballistic missile submarines: Le Triomphant, Le Temeraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible.
- That certainly raises the stakes.
The bottom line: "It is naive to think that these drone incursions, now commonplace in the skies over Western Europe and wider NATO countries, will slow down any time soon," Jens Holzapfel, business director at Nordic Air Defence, told Axios.
- "It is lucky that there so far haven't been more grave consequences."
Go deeper: Russia dares NATO to shoot
