Belgium to ban drones over sensitive areas: “If possible, we will shoot them down”

Brussels – The Belgian government has planned initial countermeasures to respond to possible new drone incursions into national airspace and over risk areas such as airports and military bases. The Minister for Mobility, Jean-Luc Crucke, announced that he will present “a royal decree banning unauthorised drones over sensitive areas,” while Theo Francken, responsible for Defence, indicated that a national aerial surveillance centre will be operational by 1 January. In the meantime, “the orders and directives are clear”: hostile drones, “if possible”, will be shot down. 

These are the moves set out in the National Security Council, urgently convened this morning (6 November) in Brussels by Prime Minister Bart de Wever, after the significant disruption to air traffic caused on Tuesday evening by the reporting of several drones over the airports of Zaventem, in the capital, and Liège, as well as several military bases in the country. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, almost 80 flights were cancelled and dozens diverted to other national airports or to the Netherlands. In recent weeks, sightings of suspicious drones in Belgian skies have become more frequent.

A national surveillance centre—the National Airspace Security Centre—already exists at the Beauvechain air force base and revolves around the control centre installed there for some years now. In the coming weeks, it should be made fully operational. 

On the sidelines of the Security Council meeting, Crucke explained that “there is a regulatory framework that will be used more effectively.” That is, there is a mandatory registration system for drones and their pilots. The Minister of the Interior, Bernard Quintin, emphasised that “we do not live in a system where everyone can do what they want. We cannot ban all drones, because we also need them for our security. But I want to emphasise that you can incur severe penalties if you fly a drone over the airport and endanger safety.” 

According to the Belgian daily Le Soir, Belgium is also reportedly working on proposing a European framework to respond to the problem of drones “escaping abroad.” This morning’s meeting —which lasted over two hours—was also attended by the heads of the Federal Police, the intelligence services, and the Federal Prosecutor. According to the intelligence community, there is little doubt that a state actor is behind these intrusions. In a statement to Flemish broadcaster VRT, the Russian embassy in Brussels said that Moscow “has no connection with the drones in Belgian airspace” and “no reason or interest in launching such devices.” 

Meanwhile, “we must not allow hostile drones to enter our territory or fly over our military bases,” Francken warned. “The orders and directives are clear: if possible, we will shoot them down.”