admin
A sailor aboard France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle unintentionally revealed the vessel’s location by uploading a fitness session on the app Strava, according to French daily The World.
The report said a young crew member recorded a 36-minute workout and shared it publicly, allowing the ship’s position to be tracked in near real time. The data placed the carrier in the Mediterranean Sea, northwest of Cyprus and about 100 km from Turkey’s coast.
France had earlier announced the deployment of the carrier on March 3, following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The World said it verified the location using satellite images taken shortly after the activity was logged, which showed the outline of the vessel in the same area.
France’s Armed Forces General Staff acknowledged the ‘breach’, saying such posts “did not comply with operational digital security rules” and that “appropriate measures will be taken by the command”.
The report added that the incident was not isolated. At least one other crew member on active duty had also shared geolocated content online, including images from the ship’s deck and onboard equipment.
Story continues below this ad
The fitness app, used by millions worldwide, allows users to upload and share location-based activities such as runs and cycling routes. In this case, the publicly available data made it possible to identify the carrier and its accompanying fleet.
