Recent episodes add to a series of sightings of unidentified drones in European countries in recent months
The authorities of opened an investigation after the second sighting of a suspicious drone of Russian origin over the Kleine Brogel Air Base, in the north of the country, in less than 24 hours. The episode raises security concerns within the . Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken confirmed the new incident on Saturday (1st), one day after another drone was detected in the same region. A police helicopter was sent to pursue the equipment, but was unable to intercept it.
Kleine Brogel is considered one of Belgium’s most sensitive military installations and is widely identified by experts as one of the European locations that would store United States nuclear weapons, within the Atlantic alliance’s nuclear sharing agreement — information never officially confirmed by the Belgian government.
According to sources close to the investigation, the flights took place at night, which made it difficult to identify the model and origin of the drone. “This was not the work of amateurs, but of experienced pilots,” Francken said on social media, without giving further details about those possibly responsible.
The recent episodes add to a series of sightings of unidentified drones in European countries in recent months. In September, Copenhagen (Denmark) and Oslo (Norway) airports temporarily suspended their operations following similar situations. Although the origin of the devices has not yet been confirmed, European defense officials suspect Russian espionage operations aimed at monitoring the continent’s strategic military infrastructure.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
