Unidentified drone found at US Navy base in Italy

NAPLES, Italy — The discovery of an unidentified drone at the Navy’s largest installation in Italy this week prompted base-wide security measures while officials worked to determine whether it was armed.

The small drone was found Thursday at Naval Support Activity Naples’ Support Site, prompting security forces to take precautionary measures, the base said in a statement.

Around the time of the discovery, the base issued a brief shelter-in-place order at its Capodichino location, about 13 miles away. It wasn’t clear if the shelter in place order was related to discovery of the drone or if a similar order was in place at Support Site.

The base subsequently sent email and text alerts to community members saying the entry and exit gates at Support Site were back in operation.

“Resume normal operations,” a base text message stated. It added that people should stay away from the gym and hospital areas at Support Site until further notice. About 1 1/2 hours later, another text message again stated that Support Site was resuming normal operations.

Italian law enforcement determined that the drone did not contain explosives or present a detonation hazard and the security perimeter was taken down, the base said.

It wasn’t clear Friday whether the drone was outfitted with a camera or other surveillance devices. Its make and manufacturer also were unknown.

Italian law enforcement seized the device, and an investigation into its origin and how it came to be on the base was ongoing, NSA Naples said.

The incident comes amid heightened concern over unauthorized drone sightings near military bases belonging to the U.S. and its allies.

For example, a drone swarm repeatedly hovered over an Air Force base in Louisiana in early March, ABC News reported at the time.

Unidentified drones also were detected the same month over a Washington, D.C. military installation where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio live, The Washington Post reported.

In Europe, drone sightings have increased in recent years at military bases, airports and other locations. Many of the incursions have raised suspicions of Russian hybrid attacks against European countries supporting Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement.

Last week, two drones were spotted over a German military base near Bonn just days after an explosive-laden drone was discovered at an airport in eastern Germany used by NATO and German military forces.

The device, thought to be of Russian origin, was defused, German reports said. There is no indication that the drone found at NSA Naples was related to a wider campaign of provocations.

NSA Naples is home to U.S. Sixth Fleet, among 55 commands largely located at the base’s Capodichino site adjacent to Naples International Airport.

The base’s Support Site houses military families, schools, a hospital and hotel, among other services and other operations.