The Swedish military successfully disrupted a suspected Russian drone on February 25 as it neared a French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier stationed in Malmö for prominent NATO exercises, as reported.

The Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French navy, had docked in the southern Swedish port as part of the LA FAYETTE 26 mission.

These exercises brought NATO’s naval forces into the Baltic Sea area amid escalating tensions with Moscow.

Rafale M (Marine) fighter jets were seen on the flight deck with the conning tower visible in the backdrop on the French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle. (Johan NILSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP via Getty Images)

The incident involving the drone occurred while the carrier was docked, highlighting growing concerns about Russian-linked drone activities near vital Western military installations, as noted by SVT.

The Swedish broadcaster reported that the drone was launched from a nearby Russian vessel and moved toward the carrier before being detected by Swedish forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is testing the boundaries of NATO with aircraft incursions, allied states say. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/Reuters )

A ship from the Swedish navy found the suspected drone during ongoing sea patrols in the Öresund Strait.

In response, Swedish operatives activated electronic countermeasures, disrupting the aircraft’s control systems.

“A ship from the Swedish Navy observed a suspected drone during ongoing sea patrols in the Öresund,” the Swedish armed forces said in a statement, SVT reported.

“In connection with the observation, the Swedish Armed Forces took countermeasures to disrupt the suspected drone. After that, contact with the drone was lost,” the statement said.

One of three Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft takes off from the Blekinge Wing F17, based in Kallinge, southern Sweden, for a base in Sardinia to join the NATO-led operation in Libya, on Saturday, April 2, 2011. As Sweden joins NATO, it bids a final farewell to more than two centuries of neutrality. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Patric Soderstrom, File)

As yet, it remains unclear whether the drone returned to the Russian vessel or fell into the sea after being jammed.

Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson told SVT Thursday that the drone came “probably from Russia, as there was a Russian military vessel in the immediate vicinity at the time of the facts,” according to Le Monde.

“A drone was jammed yesterday by a Swedish system at about seven nautical miles from the Charles de Gaulle. The Swedish system worked perfectly and this did not disrupt operations on board,” French General Staff spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet also said.

This incident came just hours after Poland sent fighter jets overnight in response to another wave of Russian strikes over Ukraine, heightening tensions between Moscow and NATO, according to reports.

It also follows warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that his “adversaries know how things could end” if they resort to using a “nuclear” response.

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