Belgium Funds Microwave Weapons Research to Counter Drones

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has allocated just over €160,000 over three years for a joint NATO research program exploring microwave radiation and laser weapons as cheaper alternatives to intercept drones and low-flying rockets. The agreement, signed by Belgium and ten other NATO allies at the alliance’s summit in Ankara in July, became public on August 15, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

The Cost Problem in Modern Air Defense

The research addresses a fundamental economic imbalance in modern warfare: the countermeasure is often far more expensive than the threat it targets. A Shahed drone of Iranian manufacture, which Russia deploys extensively, costs approximately €20,000 to €50,000, while a single Patriot missile can cost anywhere from €1 million for the least advanced variant to €4 million for advanced versions, as The Guardian recently reported.

“You can’t fire a missile at every cheap drone,” Francken said. “That is operationally and financially unsustainable, and in a densely populated country like ours, not always safe either. Lasers could be part of the answer in the long term.”

The war in Ukraine has highlighted this dilemma daily. Russia launched over 200 drones per day into Ukraine as of March 2026, putting intense pressure on defenders who cannot afford to expend million-dollar interceptors on each incoming threat, as TechNews180 reported.

How Microwave and Laser Weapons Work

The research program will explore several technologies, including high-power microwave (HPM) weapons and lasers. Patrick Bolder, a former lieutenant colonel in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and specialist in unmanned systems at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, explained the principle behind microwave weapons.

“Compare it to a microwave oven: if you can concentrate the energy of a microwave oven in very high quantities at one point, you can burn the electromagnetic chips and circuits of a drone,” Bolder told Het Laatste Nieuws.

However, Bolder cautioned that these weapons have significant limitations. “The range of this type of weapon is small; a radius of 5 km is already a lot,” he said. “With laser weapons, you are also very dependent on weather conditions. In cloudy or high-humidity conditions, a laser is no longer effective.”

Escalating Drone Threats Across Europe

The research initiative comes against a backdrop of escalating drone threats across the continent. Just days before the announcement, an armed drone carrying 800g of Semtex and PETN plastic explosives was discovered at Leipzig airport near Ukrainian cargo planes. The bomb’s faulty detonator prevented detonation, but the incident marked what The Guardian called “a dangerous escalation for Europe.”

On August 14, NATO fighters destroyed a foreign drone over Latvia’s Balvi Municipality, according to Debuglies. The incident highlighted the difficulty of detecting and intercepting low-flying unmanned aircraft that can evade traditional radar systems.

NATO’s Broader Counter-Drone Push

Belgium’s contribution is part of a much larger NATO effort. At the Ankara summit in July, allies announced more than USD 40 billion in counter-drone investment over five years, along with a commitment to train five times as many military drone operators by the end of 2027.

The research program also complements other European initiatives. In February 2026, five of Europe’s largest defense spenders — the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland — launched the LEAP initiative (Low-Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms) to develop affordable surface-to-air weapons. The UK became the first to award contracts under the program in July, selecting Cambridge Aerospace alongside other companies to develop low-cost drone interceptors.

Political Context and Controversy

The announcement comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Francken’s earlier anti-drone procurement. In late 2025, following multiple drone sightings over Belgium, the government approved a €50 million emergency anti-drone plan. A Pano investigation by Belgian public broadcaster VRT NWS found no evidence of hostile drones over Belgium and questioned the procurement process, which bypassed public tender procedures. The Brussels prosecutor subsequently opened an investigation into whether all rules were followed.

Francken has denied wrongdoing and defended the earlier procurement as a necessary response to a perceived threat. The new €160,000 research allocation represents a modest investment by comparison, but signals Belgium’s participation in collaborative NATO research despite its relatively small defense budget.

What’s Next

The research program will run over three years, with results expected to inform future procurement decisions. As the drone threat continues to evolve — with Russia reportedly equipping Shahed drones with jet engines and developing counter-drone technologies — the race to develop cheaper, more effective defense systems is likely to intensify.

For Belgium, the outcome of this research could determine whether the country adopts directed-energy weapons as part of its future air defense arsenal, or whether cheaper interceptor missiles prove more practical. Either way, the fundamental challenge remains the same: making defense affordable enough to keep pace with the threats it must counter.