Three unidentified drones were spotted on Sunday evening over the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium, national media reported. A spokesperson for the energy company Engie, the operator of the facility, told the Belga news agency that the matter is being investigated.
According to spokesperson Hellen Smeets, the appearance of the drones did not affect the plant’s operations. “The relevant authorities are investigating the matter,” she added. The Belgian National Crisis Centre also confirmed the incident and stated that an analysis is underway.
Energy expert Luc Pauwels assured in an interview with VRT television that the incident posed no nuclear threat. He emphasized that although Doel is located in a no-fly zone and the restriction had been breached, the plant’s reactors are well protected. “The reactors are designed to withstand the impact of aircraft, from small planes to large passenger jets, which means drones do not pose a threat to the structure,” he explained.
This is another such incident in recent days. Previous ones disrupted flights at airports in Liège and Brussels. In Liège, air traffic was again suspended for about 30 minutes on Sunday evening due to the appearance of more unmanned aerial vehicles.
Belga highlighted that incidents caused by the unauthorized presence of drones occur almost daily in various parts of Belgium, including over military facilities.
The newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard revealed that the Belgian police have a special unit to combat unmanned aerial systems, equipped with technology to detect and neutralize hostile drones. “A thirty-person team has already installed detectors near major airports, and the Belgian military has been discreetly involved in assisting the police and international partners in tackling the growing problem,” reported the Belgian news agency.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday that the increase in unidentified drone incidents in Belgium is likely linked to discussions within the EU on using Russia’s frozen state assets in the West to aid Ukraine. Most of these funds are held in Belgium.
Following the series of drone incidents, several EU countries have offered support to Brussels. Germany has pledged to send units and anti-drone equipment to help protect key infrastructure, while the United Kingdom announced it would dispatch a specialist team and counter-drone technologies to Belgium.