The French military deployed electronic jammers after several suspected drones were spotted over the tightly secured Ile Longue base, home to France’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines, prosecutors said Friday.
The incident is the latest in a string of unexplained drone flights targeting airports and sensitive military and industrial facilities across Europe. Three and a half years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European officials increasingly fear such incursions may form part of hybrid tactics aimed at destabilising EU member states that support Kyiv.
No drones were shot down and no operators were identified during Thursday evening’s overflight of the base, located on a peninsula off the Brittany coast, prosecutors said as they opened a formal inquiry.
“At this stage, no link with foreign interference has been established,” prosecutor Frédéric Teillet said, adding that investigators must still confirm the objects were drones and determine their type and number.
A source close to the case told AFP that five drones were detected at around 1830 GMT. An anti-drone response was launched, and the marine battalion guarding the base fired several electronic countermeasures. “The marines fired a jammer, not a firearm,” Teillet said.
Ile Longue houses France’s four nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines—Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible. At least one is always at sea as part of the country’s permanent nuclear deterrent.
“Sensitive infrastructure was not threatened,” maritime prefecture spokesman Guillaume Le Rasle said, noting it was too early to determine the origin of the devices but suggesting the flights appeared “intended to cause concern among the population.”
Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin told broadcaster TF1 that overflying military installations is strictly prohibited. She praised the rapid response of security forces, adding: “A complaint has been filed, an investigation is underway, and it will determine the nature and purpose of this overflight.”
France and the United Kingdom are the only European nations aside from Russia that possess nuclear weapons.
The Ile Longue base, heavily protected and employing about 2,000 personnel, including 1,500 civilians, is secured by 120 maritime police officers working alongside the navy. Drone flights are banned over the entire Crozon peninsula, which encompasses the base, though such incursions have occurred before, Le Rasle noted.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
