A Swedish fast assault craft operates in the Norwegian Sea on March 12, 2024. Swedish forces used electronic countermeasures to jam a suspected Russian-linked drone operating near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Oresund Strait during its port visit to Malmo, Sweden. (Danielle Serocki/U.S. Navy)
A suspected Russian drone spotted near a nuclear-powered French aircraft carrier docked in Sweden was taken down with anti-drone technology, Swedish officials said this week.
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is taking part in military drills in the Arctic region and was on a stop at the port of Malmo when the incident occurred.
It comes as NATO is beefing up its presence around the High North. Major military drills involving thousands of U.S. and allied forces are set to begin in the coming weeks across the region.
In March, Norway will host Cold Response, a territorial defense drill involving about 3,000 U.S. Marines and roughly 25,000 personnel from about a dozen countries.
A HANX U.S. Marine Corps 3D-printed drone conducts a test flight on Feb. 12, 2026. Swedish officials are investigating a drone incursion near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in Malmo ahead of NATO drills. (Makayla Elizalde/U.S. Marine Corps)
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle sails in the Red Sea on April 15, 2019. Swedish officials think Russia is behind a drone incursion near the carrier, which was in Malmo ahead of NATO drills. (Joshua Leonard/U.S. Navy)
The drone activity was likely connected to a Russian ship in the vicinity of Swedish territorial waters, Defense Minister Pal Jonson told the local SVT news network on Thursday.
“From all appearances, there is a strong connection between the Russian military ship and this drone,” he said, adding that Swedish forces “acted quickly and resolutely” to disrupt the drone.
The military exercises are happening alongside a new NATO mission dubbed Arctic Sentry, which calls for a larger allied presence in the Arctic to carry out broader surveillance operations.
Drone intrusions near sensitive military locations have become a growing concern.
In December 2024, Ramstein Air Base officials and German police confirmed that there had been a series of unauthorized drone flights over the Air Force’s largest installation in Europe.
Drones also were repeatedly spotted in the United Kingdom in the vicinity of RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Fairford and RAF Feltwell around the same time. The military never publicly identified who was responsible for the unauthorized flights.
