Drones spotted over military airbase in Belgium

Media outlet Belga reported this on its website, according to Ukrinform.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken emphasized on social media platform X that a drone detection system has been operating at the base for some time. According to him, photos of unidentified drones were taken.

"The Ministry of Defence will be meeting with the local police next week to analyse the threat and scale up our efforts to find and arrest drone pilots," he said.

The incident has been reported to the military intelligence service.

Francken stressed that drone flights over military areas are strictly prohibited and the Ministry of Defense must do everything possible to ensure the capability to shoot them down.

He added that a EUR 50 million counter-drone defense system plan is ready. It will be discussed by an interdepartmental working group on Tuesday and presented to the Council of Ministers on Friday. "We urgently need more CUAS instruments [Counter Unmanned Aircraft System, drone defence systems, ed.]," he emphasized.

The Kleine-Brogel Air Base, located in the city of Peer, stores U.S. nuclear weapons and will become the home base for new F-35 fighter jets starting in 2027.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, unidentified drones had previously been spotted twice over the military base in Marche-en-Famenne in southern Belgium.

Illustrative photo