France has opened a judicial investigation into unauthorized drones detected near and above military facilities in Toulon during an exercise to defend installations in and around the city's harbor.
France’s Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said Oct. 21 that counter-drone measures were activated for each detection. It said sensitive infrastructure had not been threatened as of that date.
In its notice about Typhon, the prefecture said the exercise ran from Oct. 5 to 16. Forces trained to protect military sites in and around Toulon harbor in coordination with internal security services.
ICI Provence reported that the flights took place at night from Oct. 9 to 13 at the Toulon naval base, a Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) site in Toulon and the 54th Artillery Regiment in nearby Hyères. Maritime authorities told the broadcaster the drones were separate from those used in Typhon.
The number and models of the unauthorized drones have not been established, ICI Provence reported. The investigation seeks to identify who operated them and why, the broadcaster said.
