The sighting of two drones at Belgian airports in Brussels and of Liège Over the past week it has put European allies on guard. Belgiumcradle of Europeanism that houses in its territory the headquarters of the European Commissionwill reinforce its air security against aircraft incursions with the consequent threat of war.
Therefore, United Kingdom has taken a step forward and announced that it has already sent British soldiers to defend Belgian airspace. The country’s rapprochement occurs five years after the British departure from the European Union (EU), the process known as Brexit, but, now, military tension between the countries has increased with the Russian ghost flying over European countries. Objective: protect the heart of the EU.
The new head of the British Army, Sir Richard Knightondeclared in the program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC than its counterpart in Brussels He asked for help after the drone incursion and the Defense command has already sent its military to Belgian lands.
Brussels seeks to award an aid package valued at 50 million euros in order to reinforce its air defense. In addition, it has the help of its German neighbors.
He Council of Ministers has not yet given its final approval to the plan, but the Executive assured this Friday to the Belga agency that there is a “principle of agreement” to offer a rapid response to the disruptions to air traffic, after holding a meeting on Thursday. National Security Council to address the problem.
He Government It wants to improve and reinforce detection and surveillance systems and equip itself with anti-drone ‘guns’ capable of disabling radio and GPS links, and other systems to disable devices in flight.
the russian ghost
As the plan moves forward, the Army Belgian has already received orders to shoot down the devices if it can be done safely and “without causing collateral damage,” according to Efe.
All signs point to Russiabut there is no official confirmation and Moscow denies it. The local newspaper The Morning published this Friday that Belgian authorities suspect that the attacks could come from the “Russian ghost fleet” of a thousand Russian ships that transport oil to China and sail under false flags, which also focus attention on incidents reported in Denmark y Finland.
A “No Fly Zone” sign at Brussels International Airport.
“The ghost fleet is a silent pawn in the hybrid war. These ships represent a threat to our security, our economy and our democracy. What happens in our seas affects the very foundations of our society,” the Belgian Navy admiral told that newspaper. Tanguy Botmanwithout going so far as to attribute the drone events to those ships.
The Minister of Defense, Theo Frankenhinted last weekend that Russia is behind these recurring episodes – similar to those that have been recorded in recent months in Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania-, although he added that he does not have “concrete information.”
“NATO would devastate Moscow”
Francken has recently had a personal confrontation with the former president of Russia Dmitri Medvedev. The Belgian assured in an interview in the newspaper De Morgen that “If Russia attacked Brussels, NATO would devastate Moscow” and Medvedev responded on social network X to the heat of the test of a new and powerful missile.
“If we test the Poseidon there… Belgium will be wiped off the map,” said the senior Vladimir Putin. Following these statements, several Belgian military intelligence websites suffered DDoS cyberattacks, perpetrated by the NoName057 collective, the Belgian newspaper reported. Sudinfo.
This group of hackers linked to Russia claimed responsibility for the attack on the Telegram network with explicit reference to the words of Francken.
The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has suggested that the latest sightings could be linked to European Union talks about using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in the form of a €140 billion loan.
New military command
Sir Richard Knighton He is the new leader of British Defense. According to his biography data provided by the British Government, Knighton grew up in the English county of Derbyshire and studied at a local institute, until he entered the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1988 as a university cadet and studied Engineering at Clare College in Cambridge.
He has an ostentatious track record in the portfolio of Defense. He has been actively involved in strategic and capabilities planning, including serving as Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff for Military Capability in the Ministry of Defense and Deputy Commander for Capabilities and Personnel in the Royal Air Force.
Knighton also believes that Moscow is behind this air raid in Belgian skies. Together with NATO allies, he added that the United Kingdom would help Belgium “providing him with our equipment and capabilities,” which he indicated were already being deployed.
“As hybrid threats increase, Our strength lies in our alliances and in our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and our airspace,” the military leader added.
In more general terms, Sir Richard He claimed that the Putin-ruled country was “the most pressing threat right now” to Europe. “The illegal invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated the barbaric nature of the war efforts of Russia“he explained in the program.
Knighton added that Russia had carried out sabotage and murders in British territoryand that the so-called hybrid war is where “we – alluding to the United Kingdom – need to strengthen ourselves.”
Recently, the United Kingdom has sent RAF Typhoon aircraft to take part in defense missions over Poland as part of NATO’s mission to reinforce the eastern flank in response to incursions.
Approach to the EU
After the victory of the Labor Party in July 2024, there was a shift in British foreign policy, where the leader of the Executive, Keir Starmer, opted for rapprochement with the EU, and especially in matters of Defense.
One of the most decisive moments between the British and the EU was the so-called Windsor Landmark. This agreement reached during Rishi Sunak’s time helped the European Commission unblock the conflict with Northern Ireland, according to Deciphering War.
On May 19, the EU and UK They sealed a strategic pact in the field of Defense. It was the first time that after Brexit, the United Kingdom, with the second largest defense spending in Europe, joined the EU’s joint projects.
The agreement contemplates a new defense partnership that will unlock access for British companies to a European rearmament program 150,000 million euros.