The United Kingdom is deploying military personnel and equipment to Belgium following a series of drone incursions near major airports and military bases. The deployment comes after Belgium's Chief of Defence requested urgent assistance from NATO allies.
Belgium's main airport in Brussels and Liege Airport experienced temporary closures this week due to drone sightings in nearby airspace. Unidentified drones were also spotted near a military base storing US nuclear weapons. Brussels Airlines reported approximately 3,000 passengers were affected by flight cancellations and diversions.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told the BBC's Sunday Morning With Laura Kuenssberg programme: «The Defence Secretary [John Healey] and I agreed at the end of last week that we would deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them.» RAF specialists from the UK's counter-drone unit and advanced equipment have already begun deploying.
Unknown source sparks Russian suspicion
Knighton emphasized the source remains unclear: «It is important to be clear, though, that we don't know - and the Belgians don't yet know - the source of those drones, but we will help them by providing our kit and capability, which has already started to deploy to help Belgium.» Russia has been identified as a plausible source, though the Kremlin has denied any involvement. Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken suggested some incidents may be part of a sophisticated spying operation.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: «When our NATO allies call, we step up.» He added: «As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.» Similar drone incidents have occurred across Europe in recent months, including in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
