Belgium in turmoil over drone threat, residents sober: 'Putin won't just show up at our door'

It's a sunny autumn day, the temperature mild. A perfect day for window cleaning, thought 67-year-old Hilde Gielen from Kleine-Brogel in the Belgian province of Limburg. Although she's a bit distracted. "I keep looking up to see if there are any drones. But I haven't seen anything this afternoon."

As a retired police officer, Gielen lives next to the Kleine-Brogel military air base. Her garden and fence are just half a meter from "the first line of razor blades." About two meters behind that is another large barbed-wire fence. "It used to be open forest, and my children would climb high up in the trees," she points to the adjacent field known as the '10th Tactical Wing' – also called 'KB' by the military. At 450 hectares, the base is the largest in the Belgian defense force.

KB Air Base suddenly came into the spotlight this week due to the numerous drone sightings. Six civilian reports were received on Tuesday, in addition to two police sightings. The first sighting in Kleine-Brogel was already reported on October 31st, and continued throughout the following week. Drone reports were also received at the Belgian air base in Florennes, the Marche-en-Famenne military base, and the military bases of Heverlee, Elsenborn, and Schaffen. The drones were only visible at night.

Deurne (Antwerp), Ostend, and Brussels Airport were also disrupted by the presence of drones. Air traffic in Brussels was interrupted twice on Tuesday evening. DHL experienced disruptions in parcels: of the 47 scheduled flights that night, 19 were canceled or diverted. Two thousand medical packages—containing stents, medicines, and radioactive isotopes—were grounded. Passengers were also affected. On Wednesday, forty flights were canceled at Brussels Airport as a result of the drone sightings.

According to Defense Minister Theo Francken (N-VA), this was a "structured operation coordinated in time and space." Not involving amateur drones or hobby pilots. "We didn't use conventional radio frequencies, but 4G and 5G networks. Moreover, the drones flew in formation, something not everyone can do," he said Wednesday during the House of Representatives' Defense Committee.

"These aren't devices you can buy on the open market," agrees Elwin van Herck, drone expert and CEO of the North Sea Drones training center. "They're unmanned mini-aircraft. With a wing span of 3 to 4 meters, they can stay in the air for about 20 hours and can cover a range of up to 150 kilometers. This allows them to take off from neighboring countries or from the sea." According to him, the price tag for such a drone quickly rises to "half a million euros."

Gielen looks at her glasswork in Kleine-Brogel, reflecting the clear sky. "I initially thought: 'This must be the work of some lazy passerby.' Surely the Russians won't come back to the same spot four times?" she wonders thoughtfully, window squeegee in hand. A few kilometers away, in the center of the main municipality of Peer, Miet Boonen walks "somewhat worried" toward the pharmacy. "Not knowing where the threat is coming from scares me."

The drones are the talk of the town, and people are "scared," says Boudewijn Poelmans (73), a retired architect. But he's not alarmed. "I don't see Putin just showing up on my doorstep or the Russians bombing Belgium," he smiles over a cappuccino and a cigarette in the sun. He no longer hears the piercing sound of F-16 fighter jets taking off. "That's a daily occurrence, but if you're not used to it, you think, 'There's a war going on here.'"

A large portion of Belgium's more than fifty F-16 fighter jets are stationed at Kleine-Brogel Air Base. Driving past the fenced-off base, you'll see numerous security cameras, a large crane, and construction work related to new infrastructure for the ordered F-35s, which are scheduled to replace the F-16s starting in 2027. This makes the base a strategic target for a "state actor."

Belgium is taking drone provocations "seriously," stressed Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (Mouvement Réformateur). He called for a meeting of the National Security Council, where Prime Minister Bart De Wever, the deputy prime ministers, and the ministers of Justice, Defense, Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs discussed the security threat on Thursday. It was decided that the National Air Security Center (NASC) in Beauvechain, Walloon Brabant, must be "fully operational" by January 1, 2026, so that security services can "cooperate in an integrated manner." "To prepare Belgium for future air security challenges," said Defense Minister Francken.

A cabinet meeting will take place on Friday to discuss a €50 million drone defense plan, with procurement to be made through NATO. The cabinet's agenda includes expanding counterdrone capabilities, the need for modern detection systems, stricter registration requirements, and a protocol for neutralizing drones.

On Wednesday, it was announced that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke with Defense Minister Francken about the drone invasion and is prepared to offer "support." Earlier that day, Francken sowed confusion by stating that "the possibility of activating Article 4 of the NATO Charter will be studied in the coming days." Article 4 obliges NATO countries to hold urgent consultations if a member state believes its security or territory is threatened. Poland invoked the article in September after Russian drones were detected in Polish airspace. Defense Minister Francken later stated that he "didn't mean it that way."

While there's no concrete evidence yet – the federal investigations are still ongoing – it's now common knowledge that the Belgian security services suspect Russia is behind the provocations. "Highly plausible," agrees Joris Van Bladel, a Russia expert affiliated with the Egmont Institute for International Relations in Brussels. The Russian embassy in Brussels strongly denies espionage or interference. "That, too, fits the Russian pattern of hybrid warfare," says Van Bladel.

Critics and former defense personnel speak of "years of underinvestment" in Belgian defense and "unheeded warnings" regarding drones. Van Bladel believes Belgium is no exception in this regard. "It's perfectly normal that we don't have an immediate, adequate response to this drone race. Even Russia and Ukraine are struggling to secure their airspace." According to experts, the pressure on Belgium also offers an opportunity to take a leading role.

The Belgian drone incidents are not isolated. Air traffic in Hannover, Germany, was also halted Wednesday evening due to a drone sighting near the airport. In the preceding days, Bremen and Berlin were hit. Germany also blames Russia; the Kremlin denies the allegations.

That Belgium – as the "heart of the EU and NATO" – currently finds itself "in the eye of the storm" should come as no surprise, says Van Bladel. He also points to Euroclear, the financial services provider in Brussels where much of the Russian money frozen since the invasion of Ukraine is held. During an EU summit in October, Prime Minister De Wever temporarily blocked the European plan to use these assets for Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, such an action would be an "act of war."

There was also a recent exchange of words between Defense Minister Francken and Dmitry Medvedev, vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, on X. And then there was the meeting of Russian dissidents and opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Brussels on Tuesday. He also visited European authorities for “lobbying,” according to Van Bladel, who met Khodorkovsky in person this week. While the Flemish media spoke of a “thorn in the Kremlin’s side,” Russia expert Van Bladel states that Putin is “not very impressed by the opposition.”

In Kleine-Brogel, it's been an open secret for years that American nuclear weapons are located on the base. "I know people who work there and confirm that story," says local resident Poelmans.

Els Vanduffel (41), who works as a coordinator at a healthcare institution, walks out of the butcher shop, chatting and laughing with an acquaintance. "I'm not afraid of drones or nuclear weapons. In fact, we live so close that if a nuclear bomb were to go off here, I'd be wiped out in one fell swoop and wouldn't feel a thing."