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France on Alert After Drone Seen Over Military Train Carrying Leclerc Tanks in Mulhouse
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Authorities in eastern France are investigating reports of an unidentified drone flying over a military train carrying French Leclerc main battle tanks late on November 11, French outlet Le Parisien reported on November 12.
The sighting occurred shortly before midnight at the Mulhouse rail classification yard in the Haut-Rhin department, according to police sources cited by France Télévisions and Le Parisien.
Police confirmed that two separate drone incidents took place that night. “The first occurred above the central police station, and the second, five minutes later, over a rail yard hosting an exceptional convoy transporting Leclerc tanks,” said a police spokesperson. No suspects have been detained so far, but an official investigation has been opened.
A security guard at the yard reportedly raised the alarm after observing the drone flying near the area where several Leclerc tanks were being transported.
The convoy’s presence was independently confirmed by journalists on site. The overflights followed another unauthorized drone incident the previous day above a gunpowder factory in Bergerac, southwest France, suggesting a worrying pattern of unidentified aerial activity near sensitive military and industrial sites.
“In both cases, the drones flew low, within restricted zones, and their operators have not been identified,” one law enforcement source told reporters. “Given recent incidents across multiple regions, all possibilities remain open—from simple curiosity to deliberate intelligence activity.”
The French Ministry of Defense has not publicly commented on the Mulhouse incident, but the timing has raised concerns about possible intelligence gathering or hostile reconnaissance.
Drones have increasingly been used worldwide to monitor or disrupt military infrastructure, leading France to expand its anti-drone surveillance programs across key bases and logistics hubs.
The Leclerc tanks involved in the convoy are among France’s most advanced armored vehicles. Developed by Nexter Systems, the Leclerc is a 56-ton main battle tank armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon and advanced fire-control systems.
Designed for rapid mobility and precision, it has served as the backbone of French armored forces since the 1990s and is being upgraded under the “Leclerc XLR” modernization program. France has deployed the tank in several overseas missions, including in the Persian Gulf and NATO exercises in Eastern Europe.
Nexter's Leclerc XLR main battle tank during the trials of French Directorate General of Armaments throughout 2021. pic.twitter.com/weIBpWmiRN
— Ronkainen (@ronkainen7k15) June 9, 2022
Because of the Leclerc’s strategic importance and the ongoing transfer of units across France as part of training rotations and readiness exercises, any unauthorized drone activity near such equipment is treated as a serious security breach.
Earlier, Belgium enlisted support from international military partners to help monitor and respond to unauthorized drone activity detected in its airspace.
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