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Belgium recruits foreign forces to fight drone incursions

Belgian officials have enlisted foreign forces to help them track or seize drones that are making incursions near its airports and military bases, as well as a nuclear power plant. They claim this is all a result of Russian interference.

Last Tuesday, drone sightings caused the authorities to temporarily close Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels Airport. This was one of several recent incursions which also resulted in a brief closure at the cargo hub, Liege Airport, and disrupted a nearby airbase.

"We don't say it's Russia. "We're not saying it's Russia. It is impossible to link any incident with a specific actor. "We have nothing", said a Belgian official, who spoke under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

We are working with our partners to either get a hold of a drone or to detect the launch point and destination.

Russia has denied involvement in the drones. In a statement issued last week, its Brussels embassy stated that it had "neither a motive nor an interest in such activity".

Theo Francken, Belgium's defence minister, told Het Laatste Nieuws that there are assumptions that Russia is behind the incursions. "But I can't prove" it.

He said that Belgium was being closely watched because Russian assets were frozen at the securities depository Euroclear in Brussels. The EU has suggested using these funds to finance Ukraine. Russia has warned that it will respond with a "painful" response if this happens.

French and German anti drone teams have arrived in Belgium. Twenty British Royal Air Force specialists are due to deploy systems that can jam electronic signals required by drones to operate.

Richard Knighton told the BBC that the British armed forces would help the Belgians by providing their equipment and capabilities.

The Belgian official stated that in some cases the drones were large and flew in formation. This indicates they likely had been operated by specialists who are trained.

The Belgian government gave approval on Friday for the expenditure of 50 million Euros ($58.3 millions) on systems that detect drones and put them out-of-action. However, it is unclear when this equipment will be ready.

(source: Reuters)