French Navy Engages Drones Near Nuclear Submarine Base, Reports AFP

Local authorities told the AFP a legal investigation had been launched and that the base wasn’t affected in its operations.

Drones had already been spotted in the area last month, albeit not directly above the base, per reports in French media. The site had been buzzed by drones long before the invasion of Ukraine.

The incident follows a string of recent drone incursions in NATO airspace, with unmanned aircrafts seen buzzing around sensitive military sites and civil infrastructures in recent months across Europe, including in Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Norway.

In Poland, fighter jets were scrambled in September to shoot down drones of Russian origin, an incident widely seen as an escalation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war on Europe.

French authorities haven’t yet commented on the suspected origin of the drone incident Thursday at the well-known military site.