Since last week, several unidentified drones have been spotted in sensitive areas across Belgium. Including Brussels Airport in Zaventem, the Liège Airport which specializes in transporting cargo, the Antwerp port area, the Royal School for Non-commissioned Officers, and military bases in Kleine-Brogel, Schaffem, and Florennes.
The drones detected at Brussels airport, Belgium’s busiest airport, were especially troublesome as it caused the temporary suspension of the airport on Tuesday, November 4, with various flights being diverted to Liége. That same week on Thursday, a flight was forced to land in Amsterdam after another drone was observed within the airspace. Belgium officials were also concerned with the drone sightings above military bases, as Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) believes that their purpose was to uncover intelligence on fighter jets and ammunition deposits. In addition to this, the Kleine-Brogel military base is especially sensitive as Belgian F-16s are stored there alongside U.S. nuclear weapons.
Russia as the prime suspect
Francken has reassured the public that Belgian authorities have the situation handled, although there is not yet a confirmation of where the drones are coming from and much less who is behind the sudden incursion. The primary suspect is currently Russian intelligence. He spoke on the issue on the Het Laatste Nieuws Podcast,
“There are assumptions that the Russians are behind this, but I cannot prove it.”
The reasoning behind this lies in the recent controversy regarding frozen Russian assets being utilized for the reconstruction of Ukraine, following the Russian invasion in 2022. With the Russian money being frozen at the financial institution of Euroclear in Brussels, Francken has stated that this has resulted in the country being monitored much more closely. Another Belgian official who remained nameless due to lack of authorization to speak on the record–told Reuters,
“We’re not saying it’s Russia. We’re saying it looks like Russia. It’s impossible to connect any incident with an actor. We have nothing.”
The Russian embassy in Brussels has so far denied any involvement with the drones.
Tensions with Russian authorities
It’s also crucial to take into account that relations between Belgium and Russia have been quite tense beforehand. Two weeks ago, Francken went on the record in an interview with HUMO to say that if Russia ever elects to attack Brussels that NATO would “flatten Moscow”, a now infamous statement in the Kremlin. Deputy chairman of the Russian Security council and Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Francken an “imbecile” on X (formerly known as Twitter) and claimed that Russia had recently tested a nuclear superweapon. Replying to another user suggesting Belgium should be the testing ground of the “true doomsday weapon”, Medvedev said that Belgium would “disappear. Francken responded with an Instagram post set to Selena Gomez’s 2023 track ‘Calm Down’, clarifying that NATO is not at war with the Federation, but he does not retract his statements of the HUMO interview.
Outsourcing the investigation
After a formal request from Belgian authorities, the UK has decided to send military aid to Belgium. UK Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton has made it evident that the plan is deployment of equipment and personnel to determine the source of the drones and put an end to the situation. The UK is one of the countries helping Belgium with the drones alongside Germany and France. Beyond European borders, Francken has informed the Belgian parliament on Thursday that the United States has now provided aid as well, stating,
“Support has now also been offered by the United States. We are currently looking together at how, where and when we can best deploy it”
Belgian authorities continue to investigate where the drones are coming from, determined to avoid any further disruptions to Belgian airspace, and ensure Belgium security from foreign threats.
Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.
