A FORMAL INVESTIGATION has been launched into the flying of four unidentified military-style drones into a no-fly zone and towards the flight path of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane earlier this week.

It comes as the Taoiseach has also confirmed today that a “full review” will take place following Monday night’s incident.

The incident has raised questions over Ireland’s capacity to deal with this kind of security incident, particularly its due to take on the presidency of the EU next year.

It also mirrors similar drone incursions in Europe in recent months which led to the closure of airports in Brussels and Denmark and caused significant security tensions.

The Journal has today learned that gardaí are investigating the incident following a formal approach from the Defence Forces.

This investigation is being led by the Special Detective Unit (SDU) which holds responsibility for domestic state security, counter terrorism and other threats such as espionage.

It’s believed the SDU will be talking to international partners as part of its work.

Speaking during a visit to Wales today, Micheál Martin said that he believed the “security dimension” of the visit went “particularly well”, but said drones have emerged across Europe in recent times.

“We’ll be having a meeting with the National Security Council shortly and obviously we’re conscious of all of these things,” Martin told reporters.

“I don’t want to comment too much on security matters, but suffice to say we will do a review obviously, and part of that review will obviously be in capacity on the issue of drones,” Martin said.

“It’s been a feature now across Europe, in more recent times, the emergence of drones in the airspace of other colleagues in the European Union member states.”

The Taoiseach said Ireland would liaise and “share experience” with other EU members and see “how they deal with” issues like drone incidents.

“A lot of it is probing and testing, we suspect,” Martin added.

“And suffice to say that since the onset of the Ukraine war, there’s been heightened activity on the cybersecurity front, in terms of maritime issues and in terms of drones,” Martin said.

It is not yet known who launched and controlled the drones or where the drones are now.

Asked today by reporters if Russia was behind the incident, Martin said he would not “make any comment until we have a full review” of the issue.

French military base detects drones

Meanwhile, the French military has used anti-drone measures after five unmanned vehicles flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines.

A source told AFP that the drones were detected above the base on Ile Longue, a peninsula off the Brittany coast in northwestern France, at around 6:30 pm yesterday, said the source close to the operation.

An anti-drone and search operation was launched by the marine battalion, which protects the base, the source said. It was not immediately clear what those measures entailed.

A judicial investigation into the incident was to be opened by the military prosecutor’s office in Rennes, the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture told AFP.

“Sensitive infrastructure was not threatened,” Guillaume Le Rasle, spokesman for the maritime prefecture, told AFP.

He said it was “too early to determine” the origin of the drones, adding however that those flights were “intended to cause concern among the population”.

Mysterious drone flights over airports and sensitive military and industrial sites have rattled nerves in Europe in recent months.

Detecting the drones, making them non-operational by jamming them, or even shooting them down, are all complex and hazardous tasks. And while Russian involvement is suspected, it is difficult to prove.

The Ile Longue base is home to France’s four ballistic missile submarines, at least one of which is permanently at sea to ensure nuclear deterrence.

Drone flights in the restricted area are not uncommon.

“There are precedents,” said Le Rasle.

On the night of November 17 to 18, a drone flight over the Crozon peninsula, which includes Ile Longue, was reported, but no military installations were flown over.

With reporting by AFP