Russian-made drone on display at the 26th International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg on June 14, 2023. PHOTO: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
The Dutch army used firearms against drones that were spotted above an air base in the southeast of the country on Friday night, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced, quoted by Reuters.
Military personnel on duty at Volkel Air Base, close to the border with Germany, spotted the drones between 19:00 and 21:00. “Military aviation personnel used ground weapons to shoot down the drones. They left and were not captured,” the ministry said.
For now, Dutch officials do not have a hypothesis regarding the appearance of drones in an area where their access is prohibited. Military police have opened an investigation into the incident.
This is part of a series of similar incidents in which drones have flown over strategic or military targets in the neighboring countries of the Netherlands: Belgium and Germany.
For example, dozens of flights were diverted or canceled on October 3 at Munich airport after both runways were closed following the second sighting of a drone in two days. The operations were resumed, with delays, the next day.
The Belgian defense minister also said on November 2 that drones spotted earlier this month over Belgian military bases were intended to spy on fighter jets and munitions. “They come to spy, to see where the F-16s are, where the munitions are and other very strategic information,” Minister Theo Francken told RTBF.
The official had announced that an investigation had been launched into the sighting of unmanned aerial vehicles flying over the Kleine Brogel military base in northern Belgium.
The base is essential to the defense of Belgium and also has an American presence. The US-made F-16 fighter jets are currently stationed there, and the F-35 aircraft will also be stationed there.
