French Officer Leaks Real-Time Location Of Nation’s Largest Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle

A French naval officer accidentally revealed the real-time location of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle after logging a workout on the fitness app Strava.

The incident happened on March 13 in the eastern Mediterranean, at a time when tensions were already high due to the Iran conflict. The upload made it possible for anyone to track the warship near Cyprus.

According to Le Monde, the officer recorded a 35–36 minute run on the ship’s deck using a smartwatch. The run covered more than 7 km (about 4.3 miles) on the 262-meter-long carrier.

Since the activity was posted on a public profile, it created a GPS map that clearly showed the ship’s position, around 100 km (62 miles) off the Turkish coast, northwest of Cyprus.

Satellite images later confirmed the location along with the rest of the carrier group.

The Charles de Gaulle is France’s main warship and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the U.S. fleet. It is deployed with a full strike group that includes around 20 fighter jets, two surveillance aircraft, and three helicopters.

France sent the group to the region earlier in March to protect its citizens, support allies, and maintain its presence in the Middle East. Emmanuel Macron had described the mission as defensive, but revealing its exact position created a clear security risk.

The report said at least one more crew member on another French naval vessel had also shared geotagged workouts publicly.

These posts included images of the ship’s deck, crew members, and onboard equipment, showing that using personal devices during missions can be risky.

Strava has been linked to similar problems in the past. The app, used by over 120 million people worldwide, has previously exposed sensitive locations.

In 2018, its global heatmap revealed secret military bases. There have also been cases where security teams of world leaders were identified through their activity logs.

Reports have linked similar data leaks to personnel connected to Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.

France’s Armed Forces General Staff confirmed that the activity broke security rules and said action would be taken. The military is now looking into how personal fitness devices are used, what data is being shared, and whether stricter controls are needed.

References: nypost, bbc