Britain to send in military to help protect Belgium from ‘rogue drones’
BRITAIN is providing military support to nearby Belgium after a series of worrying, suspected Russian drone incursions into its airspace.
Sir Richard Knighton, the new chief of the defence staff, said that his Belgian counterpart had asked for help and that equipment and personnel were on the way.
This comes after Brussels Airport was forced to temporarily cease operations on Thursday night after drone activity was spotted nearby.
They were also seen in other locations, including near a military base.
It follows a series of drone incursions over several NATO nations that disrupted international air travel.
Russia has since denied all accusations of engaging in “hybrid warfare” with Ukraine’s allies.
Sir Richard said it was not certain that Russia had carried out these incursions, but it was “plausible” that they had been ordered by the Kremlin.
Defence Secretary, John Healey, said in a statement: “As hybrid threat grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”
He added that the UK would assist Belgium “by providing our kit and capability.”
The German defence ministry said on Friday that it too would support Belgium after a request from Brussels.
Around 3,000 Belgian Brussels Airlines passengers were affected by Thursday’s disruptions.
The airline said it faced “considerable costs” from cancelling or diverting dozens of flights.
Both the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, and the Belgian security services have said they suspect Russia being responsible for the incursion.
However, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken previously indicated there was no evidence to support this claim.
“At first, drones flying over our military bases were seen as our problem,” Francken said.
“Now it has become a serious threat affecting civilian infrastructure across multiple European countries.”
Sir Richard said that Russia was, broadly speaking, “the most pressing threat right now” to Europe.
“The illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown the barbaric nature of Russia’s war efforts.”
He also added that Russia had carried out sabotage and killings on UK soil.
He emphasised that hybrid warfare was an area in which “we [the UK] need to strengthen ourselves.”
Hybrid warfare refers to the use of a mixture of military and non-military tactics.
According to NATO, it is designed to interfere with infrastructure and institutions.
The shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, welcomed the decision to provide assistance to Belgium saying that there was “a heightened threat environment.”
He added that a key part of the deterring threats was “by acting with other countries through NATO.”
However, Cartlidge also criticised the government’s approach to increasing defence spending, saying that more urgency was required.
In spring, the government announced that defence spending would rise to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament.
Sir Richard countered this by saying the funding “was more than I’ve ever known in my career.”
The incursion into Belgian airspace follows similar incursions across Europe in countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany.
These are all NATO allies that have provided support to Ukraine at some point throughout it war with Russia.
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Suspicions have been fuelled by more overt airspace incursions by Russia in Eastern Europe in recent months, involving fighter jets and larger attack drones.
Russian officials have denied these were intentional.