russia continues its provocative actions in Europe by sending unmanned aerial vehicles to spy on sites related to national security and defense. This time, a russian drone was spotted spying on the French Navy's only aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle (R91), while it was in the Swedish port of Malmö preparing for strategic drills. This happened on February 26.
At the same time, on February 27, Swedish Minister for Defense Pål Jonson posted on social media that, according to technical data, the drone tracking the French aircraft carrier was of russian origin.
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Moreover, it was launched from the russian Zhigulevsk spy ship. This is a Project 503R reconnaissance ship, which has been part of the russian Navy since 1982, belongs to the 72nd Separate Division of Special Purpose Ships of the Baltic Fleet Intelligence Center, and regularly performs tasks in the Baltic Sea.
According to the Swedish Ministry of Defense, the russian ship was monitored by the high-speed HSwMS Rapp patrol boat. It detected an unauthorized drone in the region, and it was later determined that it had taken off from the russian ship.
"We monitored this vessel during its voyage and were able to take prompt countermeasures when the drone was detected," said Vice Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum. However, Swedish forces did not disclose how exactly the russian UAV was neutralized. It is also unknown what type of drone it was.
The Tapper-class HSwMS Rapp is armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns, mines, depth charges, and anti-submarine missiles. They were supposed to be retired in 2014, but the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war led to their continued use. In 2020, they were modernized.
France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle remains in service, while work is underway on its replacement under the PANG (Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Génération) project. The future carrier will be roughly twice as large in displacement and is scheduled to begin construction in 2031.
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