A French Navy Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft was targeted by a Russian S-400 air defense system while conducting a NATO mission over the Baltic Sea, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastian Lecornu reported Thursday.
The incident occurred during a routine patrol in international airspace when the French aircraft was illuminated by the fire-control radar of the Russian surface-to-air missile system. The targeting took place as the Atlantique 2 was inspecting maritime traffic near Swedish and Baltic waters.
"This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable," Lecornu stated on social media. "Our armed forces will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces."
Colonel Guillaume Vernet, French armed forces spokesman, noted that the "professional attitude of the crew prevented any escalation" during the encounter.
The French patrol aircraft had departed from its base in Brittany and spent approximately five hours monitoring the region before the incident. Military analysts believe the S-400 system that targeted the aircraft was likely located in Russia's Kaliningrad territory between Poland and Lithuania.
The confrontation comes as NATO launches Operation Baltic Sentry, a new mission focused on protecting critical infrastructure following recent damage to undersea cables between Estonia and Finland. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned of accelerating hostile actions by Russia, including cyberattacks and sabotage attempts.
The French Atlantique 2 is a specialized maritime patrol aircraft equipped for anti-submarine warfare with advanced sensor systems and extended flight endurance capabilities. France maintains a fleet of 22 such aircraft, which regularly participate in NATO surveillance operations.
NATO typically responds to around 300 Russian military aircraft approaches to allied airspace annually, with most incidents occurring in the Baltic region.