The Belgian government has expressed serious concern about drones spotted over the Kleine Brogel air base. According to Defence Minister Theo Francken, the drones showed a specific interest in the military installation. Despite extensive efforts involving helicopters and anti-drone systems, authorities were unable to bring the drones down or identify the operators.
Kleine Brogel Air Base is home to several F-16 fighter aircraft. The defence minister said the drones involved were of a “larger type” and appeared to be flying at higher altitudes. Police deployed multiple units, including a helicopter, in an effort to locate the drone pilots. However, contact was lost after the drones travelled several kilometres north and disappeared from view — apparently heading towards, or possibly across, the Dutch border.
Powerless counter-drone measure
Notably, the anti-drone measures deployed during the incident appeared to have no effect. Among the tools used was a drone-gun jammer, but it proved ineffective. In a message posted on X, Minister Francken questioned whether this failure might have been caused by the distance involved or by the frequency used by the drones.
“Deliberate operation”
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, in Bremen (Germany), air traffic was disrupted for an hour that same night by a suspected drone sighting. Yet Minister Francken emphasised that the incident over Kleine Brogel was “of a different order”, describing it as “no ordinary fly-over, but a deliberate operation with Kleine Brogel as its clear objective.”
The European Union intends to accelerate the deployment of new measures to counter unauthorised drones. These are expected to be implemented particularly along Europe’s eastern flank, to prevent drones — such as the notorious Shahed models — from easily entering EU airspace. The fact that a heavily protected air base on European soil can currently be rendered powerless against unidentified drones raises serious concerns.
