Drone detected near the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Quick intervention of the Swedish army
The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in Malmö, Sweden, February 25, 2026. Credit: Johan Nilsson/TT / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The Swedish army intervened to jam a drone that was in Swedish waters, about 13 kilometers from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, according to the announcement made on Thursday by the military forces of the two countries. Sweden's defense minister later said the aircraft was “probably from Russia, as there was a Russian warship nearby,” according to Le Monde.
French General Staff spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet told AFP the drone “was jammed yesterday by a Swedish system about seven nautical miles (about 13 kilometers)” from the Charles de Gaulle nuclear aircraft carrier.
“The Swedish system worked perfectly, and this did not disrupt the operations on board,” added the representative of the French armed forces.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson later told SVT television that the drone “probably came from Russia, as there was a Russian warship nearby at the time of the incident.”
An investigation has been opened
The incident took place in the Öresund strait, near the city of Malmö, where the French flagship made a stopover on Wednesday, the Swedish military said in a statement.
“A Swedish Navy vessel observed a suspicious drone during an ongoing maritime patrol,” and “Swedish Armed Forces took countermeasures to disrupt the suspicious drone” before losing contact, the statement said. No other drones have been spotted and an investigation is underway, the northern country's military said.
The carrier strike group, led by the French naval flagship and its escort, stopped in Malmo on Wednesday before joining NATO exercises.
“The carrier strike group is equipped with its own protection systems, but when it enters the sovereign waters of a partner, as is the case here, it comes under the protection of the host country,” explained Vernet.
Jamming a drone is a form of electronic warfare that attempts to break the connection between the aircraft and the operator or disrupt navigational instruments.
