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Swedish Military Intercepts Drone Near French Aircraft Carrier Ahead of NATO Exercises
Malmo, Sweden – The Swedish military recently intercepted a drone approaching the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was docked in Malmo in preparation for upcoming NATO exercises. The incident, which occurred on Thursday, has raised concerns about potential intelligence operations in the region.
Defense Minister Pal Jonson indicated a strong likelihood that the drone was linked to a Russian naval vessel traversing the Oresund Strait, a key waterway connecting the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. Swedish forces successfully countered the drone using electronic warfare measures after it was initially spotted by the French military approximately seven nautical miles out.
“The Armed Forces acted quickly and decisively in jamming the drone. Contact with the drone was subsequently lost, and its current status is unknown,” stated the Swedish military to the public service broadcast network, SVT.
Russia has denied any involvement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing the allegations as “absurd.”
Despite the incident, French Defense Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who was scheduled to visit the Charles de Gaulle on Friday, downplayed its significance, asserting that it demonstrated the “robustness” of Sweden’s defenses and had not impacted the carrier’s mission.
Gen. Dominique Trinquand, former chief of France’s military mission to the United Nations, suggested that the drone could be connected to ongoing Russian intelligence operations in the area. “That they would do so while the French aircraft carrier is deployed there is certainly a strategic signal,” he commented.
The Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy’s carrier strike force, operates under the protection of partner militaries when in their territorial waters. Its presence in Sweden is part of La Fayette ’26, a series of NATO exercises designed to counter hybrid warfare tactics, which Russia has reportedly employed for several years, intensifying since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
This interception follows months of reports detailing unidentified drones near military facilities, disruptions to civil aviation, and drone incursions into European airspace, including incidents in Scandinavian and Baltic nations that led to airport closures. An investigation into drone overflights of France’s nuclear-missile deterrent base in Brittany in December is also ongoing.