Britain’s elite RAF drone hunters deployed to Belgium as Nato races to shut down escalating drone threats
A specialist Royal Air Force Regiment counter-drone team has deployed to Belgium after an urgent request for help, as NATO countries grapple with a surge in rogue drone activity targeting airports and military bases.
Listen to this article
The call for support underscores the growing threat of unmanned systems across Europe, a problem that the UK has been battling at home with nearly 200 drone sightings around military sites since January.
Images released by the Ministry of Defence show RAF personnel setting up counter-UAS equipment alongside Belgian counterparts, part of a rapid effort to reinforce Belgium’s strained defensive posture.
Drone incursions over the past week have caused repeated disruption at Belgian airfields and NATO installations, prompting delays, security lockdowns and widespread concerns about hostile hybrid tactics.
Read more: Ukrainian firm vows to build 'wall of jammers’ to blind Russian drones across frontline
Read more: Met Police deploy drones to fight crime across London
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the deployment, describing it as a necessary show of alliance solidarity.
“When our NATO allies call, we step up,” he said. “Belgium requested urgent support to counter rogue drone activity at their military bases, so I’ve directed a small team of RAF specialists to deploy immediately. As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”
France and Germany have sent their own specialist units to reinforce the effort. Belgium has also approved emergency spending on new detection systems and kinetic counter-drone capabilities, with Defence Minister Theo Francken insisting that “the safety of our airports and military areas is an absolute priority.”
But within NATO circles, it is the arrival of the RAF Regiment’s No. 2 Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems Wing that has drawn particular attention.
Based at RAF Leeming, the unit is regarded as one of Europe’s most advanced counter-drone teams, combining rapid-deploy technology with operators experienced in deterring incursions near some of Britain’s most sensitive sites.
Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth said the threat now facing Belgium mirrors the dangers encountered routinely in the UK.
“The threat from UAS we have faced here in the UK, that our allies now experience in Europe, is very real and tangibly dangerous. Unauthorised and uncoordinated movements by UAS can be extremely disruptive,” he said. “We must not underestimate the threat that Russia and other hostile actors pose to our everyday lives. Hostile technology that we could only imagine a few years ago is now reality, with weapons that were once unconventional now mainstream and being used against us daily.”
Smyth praised the deployed RAF Regiment team, saying: “I’m immensely proud of the RAF Regiment unit from Leeming, who are on the ground helping our NATO ally to deter further incursions and protect their assets and economy.”
Their deployment comes as the UK confronts its own surge in suspicious drone activity. Official figures released this week show 187 drone sightings in the vicinity of British military sites since the start of the year.
Incidents have been reported near RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell, while a drone came within 250 metres of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Hamburg last year.
Although the government refuses to discuss specific defensive measures, ministers have confirmed plans to give the military new powers to neutralise drones threatening defence infrastructure.
Defence Minister Lord Coaker said the UK maintains “multi-layered security measures, including counter-drone capabilities which can identify and facilitate the capture of drones.”
Across Europe, similar incidents have been reported in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, leading to fears that hostile states, including Russia, may be testing NATO’s defences.
The Kremlin denies involvement, but senior NATO officials say the pattern fits wider attempts to probe vulnerabilities in Western infrastructure.
For Belgium, the arrival of Britain’s counter-drone specialists offers immediate relief. For NATO, it is another reminder that unmanned systems are no longer emerging threats but entrenched tools of modern hybrid conflict.
And for the RAF Regiment’s No. 2 CUAS Wing, it is yet another quiet deployment in a job that very few people notice until a drone grounds an airport or forces a military base into lockdown.