Swedish Navy intercepts suspected Russian drone nearing French aircraft carrier

MILAN — A drone suspected to be of Russian origin was intercepted by the Swedish Navy some 13 kilometers from France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier anchored in the port of Malmö, according to Sweden’s chief of defense.

While out on a patrol in Oresund, a narrow strait that separates Denmark and Sweden, a Swedish Navy ship detected a suspicious unmanned aerial system approaching the French vessel.

“Following the observation, the armed forces took countermeasures to disrupt the suspected drone – contact with it was subsequently lost, but no other ones have been observed,” the Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement.

Speaking to local media outlet SVT Nyheter, Minister of Defense Pål Jonson said that it is likely the drone was Russian, as a Russian military ship was detected operating in the immediate vicinity of the Feb. 26 incident.

Jonson called the episode a probable “violation of Swedish airspace,” and an investigation was launched to determine whether a breach was committed.

The Swedish Armed Forces declined to provide further details.

Sweden announced last month that it is undertaking a major revamp of its unmanned capabilities, including the procurement of remote-controlled electronic warfare systems that consist of drone detection sensors, which could be based on ships or ground units.

While authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of Russian the ship, several open-source maritime observers compiled a list of Russian-flagged vessels spotted in the area roughly around the same time. These included the U.S.-sanctioned Sparta IV, a cargo ship flying the Russian flag, known for transporting military equipment between Syria and Russia.

According to Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the French General Staff, the Swedish countermeasures used to repel the drone away from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle “worked perfectly” and did not disrupt the flagship’s activities.

The presence of the aircraft carrier is linked to ongoing and upcoming NATO exercise activities and deployments, including the Orion 2026 exercises in the North Atlantic and Baltic regions, which began earlier this month and will run until March.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——据瑞典国防部长称，瑞典海军在距离停泊在马尔默港的法国核动力航空母舰约 13 公里处拦截了一架疑似俄罗斯制造的无人机。

在丹麦和瑞典之间的狭窄海峡厄勒海峡巡逻时，一艘瑞典海军舰艇发现一架可疑的无人机正在接近法国舰艇。

瑞典武装部队在一份声明中表示：“发现可疑无人机后，武装部队采取了反制措施来干扰该无人机——随后与该无人机失去了联系，但没有发现其他无人机。”

国防部长帕尔·约翰逊在接受当地媒体 SVT Nyheter 采访时表示，这架无人机很可能是俄罗斯的，因为在 2 月 26 日事件发生地附近发现了一艘俄罗斯军舰。

约翰逊称该事件很可能是“侵犯瑞典领空”，并已展开调查以确定是否发生了违规行为。

瑞典武装部队拒绝提供更多细节。

瑞典上个月宣布将对其无人作战能力进行重大改革，包括采购由无人机探测传感器组成的远程电子战系统，这些传感器可以部署在舰船或地面部队上。

虽然官方尚未确认这艘俄罗斯船只的身份，但一些开源海事观察机构汇总了一份在同一时间段内出现在该区域的俄罗斯籍船只名单。其中包括受美国制裁的“斯巴达四号”货船，该船悬挂俄罗斯国旗，以在叙利亚和俄罗斯之间运输军事装备而闻名。

据法国总参谋部发言人纪尧姆·韦尔内称，瑞典采取的将无人机从核动力航空母舰“戴高乐”号附近驱逐出去的反制措施“非常有效”，没有干扰旗舰的活动。

该航空母舰的出现与正在进行和即将进行的北约演习活动和部署有关，其中包括本月初开始并将持续到 3 月的北大西洋和波罗的海地区的“猎户座 2026”演习。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。