In Belgium, an investigation is being carried out after new drone flights over a military base for two consecutive nights, Defense Minister Theo Francken said this Sunday, November 2.
Suspicious drones were reported over the Kleine-Brogel air base in the northeast of the country on Friday and Saturday night.
On Saturday, “it was not a simple overflight, but a clear mission aimed at Kleine-Brogel,” Theo Francken said on the social network X, mentioning three reports of drones, “of a larger type” and flying “at a higher altitude.” “A police helicopter and patrol vehicles pursued a drone, but lost contact,” added the Belgian Defense Minister.
A Belgian base flown over by drones in early October
“It is strictly prohibited to fly drones over military districts. The defense must do everything possible to shoot down these drones,” Theo Francken insisted the day before. At the beginning of October, unidentified drones had already flown over the Belgian military camp of Elsenborn, located not far from the border with Germany.
Between now and 2027, the European Union wants to build an anti-drone “wall,” after a series of incursions into European skies.
In September, NATO’s response to the entry of around twenty Russian drones into Polish airspace highlighted the gaps in the European arsenal. To shoot down three of these drones, NATO had to use expensive missiles.
To implement this new, more adapted and cheaper defense system against drones, the European Union intends to rely on the experience acquired by Ukraine since its invasion by the Russian army in February 2022. This country, which now has a drone manufacturing industry and, especially, drone interceptors, unique in Europe, has promised its help.
Source: BFM TV
