The Belgian National Security Council will hold an emergency meeting due to the increased incidence of drones entering airports and military bases, Interior Minister Bernard Quenten announced, BTA reports.
As BTA reports, on Monday evening, Belgian airspace was closed twice - after drones appeared over the airports in Brussels and Liege, as well as over the military bases “Kleine Bruegel“ and “Floren“.
The main goal of the meeting will be to discuss political and technical solutions to the problem, which yesterday led to the cancellation and diversion of a number of flights. According to local media, the first drones were spotted at around 9:00 p.m. Bulgarian time over Zaventem Airport in Brussels. Flight services were temporarily suspended, and 30 minutes later the alert was lifted. Shortly after flights resumed, a second order to close the airspace followed, which was lifted shortly before midnight.
Minister Quentin specified that it is not yet clear who owns the drones and where they are controlled from, reminding that not all drones in Belgium are subject to mandatory registration.
Local media reported that military detection and jamming systems were unable to counteract the aircraft. Amateur footage from the airport area shows small drones moving at high speed at an altitude of 100-200 meters, with navigation lights on.
After a series of incidents over Poland and Germany in September and October, Belgian authorities warned that Brussels airport was poorly protected and called for urgent equipment with countermeasure technology. Last year, the country recorded more than 31,000 unauthorized drone flights, mainly around the capital's airport - an average of about 30 per day.
Earlier this week, the Belgian military command ordered the shooting down of any drone that entered the area of military bases. According to Defense Minister Theo Francken, such aircraft are likely used to collect intelligence data - including the location of fighter jets and military communication frequencies.