Belgium’s defense ministry is investigating after 15 drones were spotted Thursday night over the Elsenborn military base near the German border, according to local media reports.
The ministry told POLITICO on Friday it was still probing the incident. It’s currently not clear where the drones came from or who operated them, but reports said they flew into Germany after buzzing the base.
The Belgian sighting comes amid a wave of drone-related disruptions plaguing Europe’s airspace.
On Thursday evening, a separate incident over Munich Airport forced air traffic control to suspend operations, leading to the cancellation of 17 flights and affecting nearly 3,000 passengers.
“Munich Airport, in cooperation with the airlines, immediately took care of passenger care in the terminals. Camp beds were set up, blankets, drinks and snacks were handed out,” Munich Airport said in a statement Friday.
Airport officials added that 15 incoming flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt.
In recent weeks, airports in Denmark and Norway have also suspended operations after drones were spotted in their airspace, fueling debate among European leaders over the feasibility of a “drone wall” on the eastern flank to guard against Russian belligerence.
In the most serious incident, nearly two dozen Russian attack drones crossed into Poland sparking a multimillion-euro emergency response from allied weapons systems.
Ferdinand Knapp contributed to this report.
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