The authorities in Belgium will urgently provide 50 million euros for funds to counter drones, local media reported. Several cases of drones entering military sites and airports in the country have been observed in recent days, BTA reported.
According to Defense Minister Theo Franken, these drones are operated by professional pilots in the interests of a foreign country "like Russia". He specified that he did not have direct evidence in this direction, but in his opinion everything points in that direction.
This is about espionage, Franken summarized.
The media quoted the assessment of journalist Gaëtan Powis, a defense specialist, according to whom the area where drones are most often spotted these days is key for NATO. He explained that US nuclear weapons are stored there, with which Belgian fighters could be armed if necessary.
Belgian defense expert Roger Huizen explains that detecting and countering drones requires additional equipment, which is only now starting to be provided for large airports and some military bases. According to him, safely shooting down drones, especially over a densely populated country like Belgium, is almost impossible. Husen expects that kamikaze drones will soon be sent to Europe to strike key infrastructure, and in his opinion the Baltic and Scandinavian countries are most at risk in this regard.