Unknown drones spotted over key military base in Belgium

Belgium is investigating the appearance of several drones over a military base in the southern part of the country. The Belgian Defence Ministry believes it was a deliberate reconnaissance operation.

As reported by Belgian news agency Belga, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken confirmed that unknown drones were observed over a military base in Wallonia on two occasions.

"Our guard post in Marche-en-Famenne noticed multiple drones over crucial parts of the headquarters of our army brigade on Saturday evening for an extended period," the defence minister said.

"Last night, multiple drones were spotted again above Marche-en-Famenne. Procedures followed. Police and ADIV (the General Intelligence and Security Service) are conducting an investigation," he added.

Francken noted that the origin of the drones is not yet known, but their appearance in such a sensitive location is not believed to be a coincidence.

"This was a clearly orchestrated operation against the heart of our army. They were looking for crucial information about the critical infrastructure located on military property," he stated.

Francken added that he will initiate rapid government-level procurement of systems designed to detect and down drones.

Earlier, Belgian defence industry giant Thales Belgium reported an increase in suspicious drone activity over its facilities.

The Belgian Defence Ministry is also investigating an incident in which 15 drones appeared over the Elsenborn military base near the German border on the evening of 2 October. The drones reportedly circled the base before flying into German airspace.