Minister for Defence Pål Jonson has thanked the commanding officer of HMS Rapp for the crew's efforts in the Öresund Strait in February. The vessel detected a Russian drone during the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle's visit to Malmö (southern Sweden) and jammed it.
"The crew of HMS Rapp deserve great recognition. Through high readiness and swift action, an unlawful Russian drone flight was prevented," Pål Jonson writes on X.
According to Jonson, HMS Rapp was tasked with monitoring and protecting the French carrier strike group. When the Russian signals intelligence vessel Zhigulevsk passed through the Öresund Strait, HMS Rapp tracked its movements. The ship's systems detected drone activity, after which the crew jammed the drone.
The Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) have previously confirmed that the drone was launched from the Zhigulevsk, as NDS has reported. Jonson described the incident at the time as a breach of the Act on the Protection of Certain Areas (tillträdesförordningen) and a violation of Swedish airspace.
The Charles de Gaulle was in port in Malmö (southern Sweden) at the time, with around 1,800 crew members on board. The ship played a central role in the French-led exercise Orion 26, and NDS visited the aircraft carrier during the port call.
France's ambassador to Sweden, Thierry Carlier, has responded to the post.
"Many thanks to the Swedish Navy and the Swedish Armed Forces for their unwavering commitment, dedication and impressive performance! It demonstrates an unprecedented level of cooperation and mutual trust between our navies," he writes on X.