Drones spotted over Belgian military base for third night

Drones have been spotted flying over a Belgian military base near the Dutch border for the third night in a row, according to the country’s defense minister.

A helicopter was dispatched to the Kleine-Brogel base after drones were spotted – they then took off towards the Netherlands, national broadcaster VRT reported.

Defense Minister Theo Franken said the investigation was ongoing, calling it “a clear mission targeting Kleine Broge”.

Franken told Belgian radio on Monday that it appeared to be a spy operation, but said he would not speculate on who might be behind it.

“I have some ideas, but I will be cautious,” he added.

Drones were also seen flying over other air bases – Leopoldsburg, in the central province of Limburg, and Marche-en-Famenne in the south-east of the country.

VRT reported over the weekend that drones were also spotted near Antwerp’s Ostend and Deurne coastal airports.

This marks the latest incident of drones violating European airspace in recent months.

In October, unconfirmed drone sightings forced Germany’s Munich airport to suspend operations twice in 24 hours.

A month earlier, Denmark reported that drones were flying over its airports it looked like the work of a “professional actor”.

At the time, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said there was no evidence to suggest Russia was behind the invasion.

The Russian embassy in Copenhagen denied “absurd speculation” about its involvement.

Also in September, Estonia and Poland requested consultation with other NATO members after approx 20 Russian drones flew over Poland and Russian MiG31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace.

Russia has denied violating Estonian airspace and insisted the Polish incursion was not deliberate.

The European Commission has since proposed four defense projects, including an anti-drone system, as part of plans to prepare the continent to defend itself by 2030.