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French Officer Exposes Carrier Location via Strava App

Published 20 March 2026

A French naval officer inadvertently revealed the real-time location of the country's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean Sea after logging a workout on the public fitness app Strava, according to a report published this week.

The incident occurred on March 13, when the officer, using a smartwatch, recorded a roughly 7-kilometer run around the ship's deck over 35 minutes. The data, uploaded to the officer's public Strava profile, pinpointed the vessel northwest of Cyprus, approximately 100 kilometers off the Turkish coast. Le Monde, which first disclosed the breach, confirmed the carrier's position through satellite imagery taken shortly after the activity was logged, showing the 262-meter-long ship's distinctive outline in the area.

France's Armed Forces General Staff acknowledged the lapse, stating that sharing such geolocated data violates operational digital security protocols. Officials said appropriate measures would be taken against those involved. The report also identified at least one other crew member on an active deployment who had posted geotagged content online, including images of the deck, personnel, and equipment, heightening...

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