French Navy Reports Drone Incursion During Harbor-Protection Exercises
On Wednesday, the French navy issued an alert reporting an unlawful drone incursion - this time, during a military exercise.
According to the Marine Nationale, several unauthorized drone flights were detected in restricted airspace during a series of exercises near Toulon.
"To date, no sensitive infrastructure has been threatened. A judicial investigation has been opened," the Marine Nationale said. "For each incident, the planned security measures were activated by triggering anti-drone systems, coordinated with the internal security forces."
French radio station Ici Provence, which first reported the incursions, said that the overflights occurred over Toulon's naval base - the largest naval station in Western Europe - along with the directorate of armaments building in Toulon and the base of the 54th Artillery Regiment in Hyeres. The source reported that the drones were "large machines," but the specific type and number were unknown. Electromagnetic jamming systems were used to counteract the incursion.
The drones arrived during a joint French military exercise focused on the defense of harborside installations in Toulon, with military units working alongside internal security forces. Air traffic near the exercise was prohibited to allow for unencumbered military operations - including authorized drone operations.
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The Marine Nationale's report is the latest in a series of escalating drone disruptions, some attributed to Russian interference. The most dramatic example occurred in early August at Leipzig Airport, when drones armed with military-grade explosives approached Ukrainian transport aircraft on the tarmac. The attack was narrowly averted; German intelligence has identified the Russian sabotage unit likely responsible for the Leipzig incident as GRU Unit 29155, and specifically a team of agents led by Russian-Latvian dual national Oleg Levushkin.
Top image: Toulon naval harbor, 2009 (Jesfr / CC BY SA 3.0)
