"Probably Russia" Swedish navy intercepts drone spying on aircraft carrier in the Baltic Sea

The Swedish military has intercepted a suspected Russian drone in the Baltic Sea as a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmö, authorities said.

DPA

27.02.2026, 14:11

27.02.2026, 14:50

dpa

The Swedish military has neutralized a suspected Russian drone over the Öresund. According to the military, the drone was discovered by a Swedish navy ship that was on a patrol through the strait between Denmark and Sweden, which connects the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat.

At the time, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was anchored in Malmö in connection with regular NATO exercises. Countermeasures were taken to render the drone harmless. Contact with the flying object was then broken off, it was said.

French military spokesman Guillaume Vernet told the AP news agency today that the drone had already been discovered on February 25. Swedish units involved in the security system around the aircraft carrier had dealt with it.

The drone was more than ten kilometers away from the Charles de Gaulle. "This system has proven its robustness and this incident had no impact on the activities of the aircraft carrier battle group," said Vernet.

"Probably Russia"

Sweden's Defense Minister Pål Jonson told Swedish broadcaster SVT last night that the suspected violation of Swedish airspace was linked to a Russian warship that had been in Swedish territorial waters.

When asked which country he thought the drone belonged to, he replied: "Probably Russia." The Russian ship then entered the Baltic Sea. The Swedish authorities were in close contact with the Danish authorities regarding the incident, said Jonson. According to the Swedish military, no other drones were observed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that he knew nothing about the incident. To make a connection between the drone and the Russian ship simply because it was in the vicinity is "quite absurd", he said.