150 Drone Sightings Over Belgian Strategic Sites in 2026

Belgian authorities have recorded roughly 150 credible drone sightings over or near strategic sites since the start of 2026, according to an investigation published by RTBF on 21 September. The overflights targeted military bases, nuclear sites and sensitive industrial installations, including defense-linked companies adjoining Charleroi airport. Despite a major joint police and army operation, no drone or pilot was ever intercepted, and the federal prosecutor’s office has declined to comment on an investigation that remains shrouded in secrecy.

A Summer Cluster at Charleroi

The most striking episode occurred in July 2026, when a series of nighttime drones appeared around Charleroi airport in Gosselies. The first reports were taken especially seriously because they came directly from police officers who had witnessed suspicious movements themselves.

The intruders’ objective was evidently not to disrupt air traffic. The incursions took place at night, when airport operations are paused between 23:00 and 6:30, and RTBF reported that “no disruption for the airport” was in fact observed in July, according to a spokesperson. What alarmed authorities was the proximity of the drones to sensitive sites: buildings occupied by companies active in the military aviation sector directly adjoin the airport, and several of these groups participate in strategic programs.

One of them is Sonaca, the Belgian aerospace group that inaugurated its first F-35 horizontal tailplane assembly line at Gosselies in May 2026 — an event attended by Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Defense Minister Theo Francken. As RTBF reported, the work involves classified “secret defense” material produced in discreet, highly secured facilities.

An Unprecedented Operation That Failed

Confronted with the visual observations and the sensitivity of the sites overflown, federal police and the army deployed an extensive and unprecedented field operation equipped with detection and interception gear. According to RTBF, the deployment included Defense’s new MQ-9B surveillance drone — the SkyGuardian based at Florennes — as well as an anti-drone jammer.

It did not succeed. Though the mobilized teams did spot drones, they were unable to neutralize them or trace their pilots. Several sources told RTBF off the record that they were convinced the aircraft were “professional” in nature and that the operation was “manifestly hostile.” The drone model, however, could not be established.

The purpose of the flights remains a mystery. The military aviation companies work inside closed buildings, and no sensitive material is visible from outside. Infrastructure that could be observed by drone can also be mapped discreetly from much higher altitudes, and the perimeter covered by the unidentified aircraft extended well beyond the defense industrial zone.

A Separate, Benign Incident

The broader drone problem in Belgium was thrown into sharp relief by a separate episode days later. On the afternoon of Wednesday 16 September, a drone overflew Charleroi airport and was intercepted, halting operations for 25 minutes. The aircraft had been spotted by the air traffic control agency Skeyes. As RTL Info reported, the pilot was apprehended and identified himself as a real estate agent who said he was photographing a building for a project. He must still be heard by the Charleroi prosecutor. The case appears to be a benign, isolated event — distinct from the organized nighttime incursions of July.

Investigation Wrapped in Silence

The investigation is in the hands of the federal prosecutor’s office, which will not comment on the case or even confirm the facts. It reports 26 ongoing “drone cases” at its level. “In consultation with the other entities of the public prosecutor’s office and on the basis of common directives, the federal prosecutor’s office takes on certain cases, but not all,” it said.

Defense and the General Intelligence and Security Service (SGRS) will not confirm their presence in the interception operation, though Defense said it works closely with partners “when circumstances require it.” Both framed the issue in the broader context of hybrid warfare, calling it “a phenomenon that is naturally the object of all our attention and vigilance.” Federal police declined to comment “given the ongoing investigations,” and the companies contacted invoked a duty of discretion on security matters.

Counting the Sightings — With Caution

The roughly 150 reports logged in 2026 generally concern a single aircraft, sometimes several. The tally, obtained by RTBF from a sound source, counts only sightings deemed credible — visual or radar observations made by police officers, military personnel or Skeyes air traffic controllers. They occurred over or near military bases, nuclear sites and “sensitive” companies and sites.

In 2025, authorities recorded about 560 reports. RTBF cautions, however, that the year-over-year comparison is unreliable, because the recording methodology was refined and adjusted after the massive wave of sightings in the autumn of 2025.

That wave was a turning point. Incursions were reported over military bases including Florennes, Kleine-Brogel and Marche-en-Famenne, as well as airports in Brussels and Liège. Kleine-Brogel — which hosts US nuclear weapons and the new F-35s — was overflown multiple times, prompting the National Security Council to convene urgently in November 2025. At the time, Defense Minister Theo Francken and Chief of Defense Gen. Frederik Vansina publicly raised the hypothesis of destabilization maneuvers conducted on behalf of Russia.

Why Attribution Is So Hard

Despite persistent suspicion, Belgium has not officially attributed any of the overflights to a foreign state. Contacted recently, the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs confirmed that “no official public national attribution has been made, with the exception of a cyber-attribution to China in 2022.”

The ministry explained the constraints in detail. “One of the characteristics of hybrid threats is precisely that their authors seek to conceal their involvement, so the elements available to identify them are often incomplete or indirect,” it said. A mistaken attribution, it warned, could harm public trust and lend certain actors greater capabilities than they actually possess.

Even when investigations establish a state’s involvement, Belgium weighs the wisdom of public attribution against the gravity of the incident and the potential consequences for diplomatic relations with the state concerned. The absence of a named culprit therefore does not mean Belgian services are not detecting threats with strong indications of state-actor involvement — only that either the investigations do not yet identify a responsible party with certainty, or Belgium judges the situation does not justify naming a state and risking heightened tensions.

A European Problem

The Belgian case sits within a wider European debate about Russian hybrid warfare — drone incursions, cyberattacks, sabotage attempts and interference operations. In recent days, several European leaders have denounced what they call increasingly aggressive Russian hybrid maneuvers. French President Emmanuel Macron asked his government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure. The discovery this summer of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig airport in Germany — where two suspects with Russian passports were identified — is regularly cited as an example. Unlike Germany, however, Belgium has so far attributed no action to Moscow.

A key obstacle is technical. RTBF has previously reported on why detecting and destroying drones is harder than commonly assumed — a central reason the July operation failed despite fielding the MQ-9B and a jammer.

What to Watch

The 150 sightings of 2026 mark the second consecutive year that Belgium has confronted a sustained wave of unauthorized drones over its most sensitive sites, and the federal prosecutor’s 26 open cases show the problem is far from resolved. The central questions remain unanswered: who is flying the drones, and to what end? With the F-35 supply chain now embedded in the Charleroi area, and with European capitals pushing for tougher responses to hybrid attacks, Belgium’s decision on whether — and when — to name a state actor will be closely watched. For now, prudence prevails over attribution.