France takes anti-drone measures after flight over Brittany nuclear sub base

"The French military used anti-drone measures after five unmanned vehicles flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines, a source told AFP on Friday. The drones were detected above the base on Île Longue, a peninsula off the Brittany coast in northwestern France near Brest, at around 7:30pm on Thursday, said the source close to the operation. An anti-drone and search operation was launched by the marine battalion, which protects the base, the source said."

"A judicial investigation into Thursday's incident was to be opened by the military prosecutor's office in Rennes, the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture told AFP. "Sensitive infrastructure was not threatened," Guillaume Le Rasle, spokesman for the maritime prefecture, told AFP. He said it was "too early to determine" the origin of the drones, adding however that those flights were "intended to cause concern among the population"."

"Mysterious drone flights over airports and sensitive military and industrial sites have rattled nerves in Europe in recent months. Concerns are growing that such disruptions could be part of Russian hybrid war tactics three-and-a-half years into its invasion of Ukraine, which is backed by the European Union. Detecting the drones, making them non-operational by jamming them, or even shooting them down, are all complex and hazardous tasks. And while Russian involvement is suspected, it is difficult to prove."

French forces launched anti-drone and search operations after five unmanned vehicles flew over Île Longue, the naval base housing ballistic missile submarines. The marine battalion that protects the base detected the drones around 7:30pm and activated countermeasures while the military prosecutor in Rennes opened a judicial investigation. Authorities reported that sensitive infrastructure was not threatened and said the flights appeared intended to provoke public concern, though the origin remained undetermined. European security services fear such incidents could form part of Russian hybrid tactics, and neutralizing drones presents complex, hazardous challenges.

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