Brussels \u201cdidn\u2019t even try\u201d to deploy its own specialized police unit to deal with recent UAV incidents, Nieuwsblad has reported<\/p>\n
Despite having its own specialized anti-drone police unit, Belgium did not deploy it during any of the recent AUV incidents, Nieuwsblad reported on Monday. Instead, Brussels asked fellow NATO members for help in countering what it calls a \u201chybrid threat.\u201d
\nThe unit, created four years ago and known as C-UAS, consists of 30 certified officers equipped with two drone-detection antennas, four jammers, and three net launchers, according to the report. The police website says the team \u201cprovides technological support in combating drones that pose a serious threat to public safety.\u201d
\nThe unit, however, remained absent when an unidentified drone disrupted operations at Zaventem Airport near Brussels for hours last Tuesday or when drones were seen near Liege Airport over the weekend.
\nOn Sunday, Defense Minister Theo Francken announced that the UK had sent a unit to Belgium to counter drone threats. Brussels also asked Berlin and Paris for aid, according to Nieuwsblad.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
British anti-drone unit deployed to Belgium \u2013 defense minister<\/p>\n
Belgian police seem unaware of their own capabilities, according to a member of the unit. \u201cWe\u2019re still guessing why we weren\u2019t called in,\u201d the individual told Nieuwsblad. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even try. I think many people in the police force don\u2019t even know we exist.\u201d
\nThe unit\u2019s antennas cannot detect newer 5G-enabled drones, and the lack of modern equipment often forces officers to rely on binoculars to track potential threats, the source said. All 30 members also have other responsibilities, making it impossible to provide round-the-clock monitoring even at a few key locations, according to the report.
\nPolice declined to comment on its \u201cresources or specific actions,\u201d Nieuwsblad wrote.
\nSeveral Western officials have accused Russia of violating EU airspace with aircraft and drones, calling it a part of a \u201chybrid war.\u201d The Kremlin has denied the allegations, branding them anti-Russian \u201chysteria.\u201d
\nDrone sightings near sensitive sites such as airports and military bases have been common in Belgium, according to Skeyes, the national air traffic controller. The agency reported more than 31,000 drone flights near those areas in 2024, about 90% of which were unauthorized, L\u2019Echo reported last month. The issue, however, had until recently received scant attention in the Belgian media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels \u201cdidn\u2019t even try\u201d to deploy its own specialized police unit to deal with recent UAV incidents, Nieuwsblad has reported Despite having its own specialized anti-drone police unit, Belgium did…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mongolianews.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}