AFP: French navy opens fire on five drones over nuclear submarine base

The French navy has opened fire on drones that were spotted above an important military complex that houses French nuclear submarines, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Five drones were detected Thursday evening over a submarine base in Brittany, western France — a strategic military site where submarines armed with ballistic missiles are stationed, the French Gendarmerie, which is part of the armed forces, said.

The submarines stationed at this base carry nuclear weapons and are a key part of France's nuclear deterrent.

According to AFP, French navy personnel assigned to protect the base opened fire on the drones. It is not known whether the aircraft were shot down.

Local authorities told AFP that a legal investigation had been launched and that the base's operations had not been disrupted.

Drones were already spotted in the area last month, although not directly above the base, French media reported. Similar incidents were recorded years earlier, even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This event comes after a series of recent drone incursions into NATO airspace, during which unmanned aircraft were spotted over sensitive military sites and civilian infrastructure across Europe, including Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Norway.

In Poland, fighter jets were scrambled in September to shoot down Russian-origin drones, an incident widely interpreted as an escalation of the hybrid war that Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging against Europe.

French authorities have not yet commented on the possible origin of the drones spotted on Thursday above this well-known military base.