Unidentified Drones Surveil French Military Tank Convoy and Ammunition Factory in Escalating European Security Crisis

French authorities opened investigations after unidentified drones conducted surveillance over a military train carrying Leclerc main battle tanks and an ammunition factory producing gunpowder for Ukraine’s artillery—the latest incidents in a coordinated pattern targeting NATO military infrastructure across Europe.

The drone sighting over the military convoy occurred shortly before midnight on November 11 at the Mulhouse rail classification yard in eastern France’s Haut-Rhin department, according to French outlet Le Parisien. Police sources confirmed two separate incidents that evening: drones first overflew the central police station, then appeared five minutes later above the rail yard where several Leclerc tanks were being transported.

Security Guard Raises Alarm as Counter-Drone Systems Fail

A security guard at the Mulhouse facility first spotted the drone circling above the marshalling yard where the 56-ton Leclerc main battle tanks sat exposed on rail cars. The tanks, manufactured by Nexter Systems and armed with 120mm smoothbore cannons, represent France’s most advanced armored vehicles currently in service.

Police confirmed both overflights but reported that no suspects have been detained. An official investigation has been opened, involving both military and intelligence agencies given the sensitive nature of the target.

The Leclerc tanks are critical components of France’s armored forces, with a 1,500-horsepower powerpack and advanced fire-control systems. The tanks have been deployed to Romania as part of NATO’s eastern flank reinforcement.

Previous Night: Eurenco Gunpowder Factory Targeted

The Mulhouse incident followed another unauthorized drone overflight on November 10 at the Eurenco gunpowder factory in Bergerac, southwestern France. According to CNEWS, a drone overflew the facility twice around 7:00 PM, including passes directly over buildings where gunpowder charges are manufactured for the French military.

The Bergerac facility is strategically critical—it produces up to 1,200 tons of propellant powder annually, specifically modular charges for CAESAR self-propelled howitzers that have been extensively deployed supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion. France recently expanded the facility with four new automated production lines that became operational in early 2025.

Factory employees reported the drone made two passes over the facility, but radio jamming and drone identification systems failed to activate, preventing interception. Police who arrived at the scene were unable to locate the drone or its operator.

“The radio jamming and drone identification systems did not work, so it was not possible to intercept the device,” a police source told Europe 1 radio station.

Pattern of Coordinated Surveillance Across Europe

The French incidents are part of an escalating wave of drone surveillance targeting NATO military infrastructure across Europe. Since September 10, 2025, at least 59 drone sightings have been recorded over sensitive military and nuclear facilities in Poland, Romania, Estonia, Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden, according to multiple European media reports.

Belgium has faced the most intensive activity. On November 9, five drones overflew the Doel nuclear power plant near Antwerp—just days after repeated surveillance operations over Kleine-Brogel Air Base, which houses U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangements.

“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 coordinated nature of the incidents has prompted Belgium to authorize military shootdown of unauthorized drones and request emergency assistance from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, which have deployed counter-drone specialists to Belgian territory.

French Military Remains Silent on Attribution

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 targeting military logistics and ammunition production supporting Ukraine.

Because of the Leclerc’s strategic importance and ongoing transfer of military equipment across France as part of training rotations and NATO readiness exercises, any unauthorized drone activity near such convoys is treated as a serious security breach. France has been developing anti-drone protective grilles for Leclerc tanks in response to lessons learned from the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier, Belgium enlisted support from international military partners to help monitor and respond to unauthorized drone activity detected in its airspace. Belgian intelligence agencies have indicated they believe a foreign state, most likely Russia, is behind the recent series of drone incidents, though Moscow has denied involvement.

DroneXL’s Take

This is exactly the scenario we’ve been warning about since the Belgium incidents began escalating in September. We need to be clear about something: the vast majority of “drone sightings” turn out to be misidentified aircraft, helicopters, stars, planets, or weather balloons. We saw this spectacularly with the New Jersey drone hysteria where Venus and commercial airliners sparked thousands of panicked reports.

But the French incidents are different. These show hallmarks of actual military reconnaissance: sophisticated counter-drone evasion, coordinated timing across multiple high-value targets, professional operational security, and most critically—security guards at ground level with direct visual confirmation at close range, not distant lights in the sky.

What should concern drone operators everywhere is how legitimate security threats lead to restrictive policies that harm everyone. When actual military-grade reconnaissance drones surveil ammunition factories supplying Ukraine and nuclear weapons storage sites, governments respond with sweeping airspace restrictions, mandatory remote ID enforcement, and shoot-down authorizations that affect recreational pilots and commercial operators who had nothing to do with these incidents.

The failure of counter-drone systems at both the Eurenco factory and Mulhouse rail yard is particularly troubling. If France—with significant defense industry expertise and NATO-standard security protocols—can’t intercept these aircraft, what does that say about the capability gap across European airspace? Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken admitted Belgium is “four years behind” on counter-drone systems, with proposed investments that won’t deliver capabilities for over a year.

The broader pattern is unmistakable: someone is systematically mapping European military logistics, from German supply routes shipping weapons to Ukraine, to Belgian nuclear storage facilities, to French ammunition production and tank convoys. Whether this is Russian intelligence services conducting hybrid warfare or another actor entirely, the sophistication suggests state-level resources and planning.

For our community, this crystallizes a fundamental challenge: how do democracies protect legitimate security interests without turning airspace into a no-fly zone for everyone else? The answer can’t be “ban all drones” or “shoot first, ask questions later”—that punishes search-and-rescue operators, infrastructure inspectors, and thousands of legitimate commercial and recreational pilots for the actions of hostile intelligence operations.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.