Drones spotted over Nato airbase were ‘spying’ on F-16 fighter jets

A European airbase, which is home to NATO F-16 fighter jets, was ‘spied’ on this weekend by mystery drones.

Above the Kleine Brogel Air Base in Peer, Belgium, several large drones were spotted hovering for a long period.

Belgium’s defence minister Theo Francken said several ‘larger type’ drones at a high altitude were found on Saturday night, and were ‘clearly’ monitoring the airbase.

‘A drone jammer was used, but without success … A helicopter and police vehicles chased the drone, but lost it after several kilometres,’ he said.

He added: ‘They come to spy, to see where the F-16s are, where the munitions are, and other highly strategic things.’

The Kleine-Brogel Air Base works to ‘fundamentally contribute to NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy’, though it’s not been confirmed if US nuclear weapons are actually stored on site.

Mystery drone sightings across Europe have been linked to Russia, but not officially confirmed.

In early October, dozens of flights to and from Munich Airport were cancelled or delayed due to the mystery drones.

Drone activity in Denmark also sparked concern after the country’s busiest airport was forced to shut, wreaking havoc on travel as planes were grounded.

The head of a global firm that provides sophisticated drone defences previously told Metro that he does not know of a fully-protected civilian airport.

Oleg Vornik, of DroneShield, warned that counter-measures are lacking at a time of Russian probing and sabotage across the UK and Europe.

The chief executive spoke after uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) were detected near a naval base in Sweden. 

Vornik told Metro the activity is most likely part of Russia’s ‘grey zone’ in the UK and Europe, also including freight parcel bombs, spy rings and the sabotage of deep-sea cables. 

His comments are significant as DroneShield has systems in Poland next to the border with Ukraine, which pick up data about UAS launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces.