Overview
- Britain is sending a small RAF specialist unit with counter‑drone equipment to Belgium after a formal request, with personnel and kit already starting to arrive.
- France and Germany have also dispatched anti‑drone teams to help protect Belgian airports and military sites under a coordinated allied response.
- Recent sightings forced temporary suspensions at Brussels Zaventem and Liège, causing diversions and cancellations that affected about 3,000 Brussels Airlines passengers.
- Unidentified drones were reported near sensitive locations including the Kleine Brogel base that stores U.S. nuclear weapons, and over critical infrastructure such as the port of Antwerp.
- Attribution remains unconfirmed as Russia denies involvement; EU and NATO officials cite a broader pattern of hybrid threats, and Belgium plans its National Air Security Center to be fully operational by January 1, 2026.