Belgium’s main Brussels airport and Liège cargo hub were forced to halt flights over the past week after unidentified drones entered restricted airspace, with sightings also reported around a base that stores U.S. nuclear weapons. Belgian authorities requested allied help as investigations continue into who is operating the aircraft.

UK Sends RAF Counter-Drone Unit

Britain’s defense chief, Gen. Richard Knighton, said the U.K. would send personnel and equipment after Belgium requested help, noting that deployment had already begun.

He said the source of the drones was still unknown but called Russia the main threat, citing a wider pattern of hybrid attacks like cyber operations and sabotage.

Belgian officials said the drone incursions forced brief closures at Brussels’ main airport and Liège cargo hub, following similar unidentified flights this fall across northern Europe, including near a Belgian base that houses U.S. nuclear weapons.

Suspicious Flights Near Nuclear Site

Belgium’s defense minister, Theo Francken, argued that at least some of the incursions looked like a “spying operation” that “amateurs could not have carried out,” pointing to the precision and persistence of the flights.

NATO planners worry that repeated disruptions at airports, military bases, and nuclear-related sites could stress air-defense and police resources without crossing the threshold of open conflict.

Hybrid Threats And Frozen Russian Assets

In his first major TV interviews since taking office in September, Gen. Richard Knighton warned that Britain must be ready for “warfare below the traditional threshold.”

He linked the drone incidents to debates over Russian frozen assets, as the EU and UK consider using central bank reserves in Belgium as backing for a €140 billion loan to Ukraine.

German officials said the flights are likely tied to that dispute, though no proof has been made public. UK defense spending will rise from £62.2 billion this year to about £71 billion by 2027–28, raising it to 2.6% of GDP and funding new counter-hybrid and air-defense systems now being tested over Belgium.