An incident involving unidentified drones flying over the Mourmelon-le-Grand camp in France overnight on Monday led to increased security measures and an ongoing investigation, military officials confirmed.
Unidentified drones flew over France's Mourmelon-le-Grand military base overnight on Monday, triggering increased security measures at the facility that houses the 501st tank regiment and has trained Ukrainian soldiers, domestic media reported.
Military officials told French outlets that small aircraft spotted over the Marne department base were "not drones piloted by military personnel," according to the departmental military delegation. Regional newspaper L'Union was the first to report the incident.
The base immediately increased security arrangements following the unauthorised overflights. Mourmelon-le-Grand has hosted Ukrainian soldiers undergoing training as part of the Champagne task force throughout 2024.
French law strictly prohibits civilian drones from flying over military installations, with unauthorised flights over sensitive sites considered threats to national security punishable by heavy fines or imprisonment.
The incident is yet another in a growing pattern of unauthorised drone incursions across Europe over the past month. Several European countries have reported UAVs operated by unknown individuals flown over sensitive civilian and military sites in Scandinavia, Poland and the Baltic states.
These intrusions have led to temporary airport closures, flight cancellations and increased air patrols across the affected regions. NATO officials suspect Russia may be behind the disruptions, with several countries designating them as "hybrid attack" operations designed to test European defence responsiveness.
Source: EuroNews
European diplomats went to Moscow to warn Russia that they could shoot down Russian planes.
NATO is prepared to respond to further airspace violations with full force, including the downing of Russian aircraft, and the Kremlin has already been warned by European diplomats, according to Bloomberg.
The warning was given at a tense meeting in Moscow between British, French, and German envoys following the incursion of three MiG-31 fighter jets over Estonia last week. The conversation concluded that the violation had been a deliberate maneuver ordered by Russian commanders.
Source: Bloomberg
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