Brussels, 3 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Four drones were sighted on Sunday evening over Belgium's Kleine-Brogel military airbase, which is used by NATO forces, in the latest of several incidents reported over the weekend.

The Belgian news agency Belga reported the sightings, citing local Mayor Steven Matheï. A police helicopter followed them, but they eventually disappeared northwards towards the Netherlands.

Earlier, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said there had been drone sightings overnight from Saturday to Sunday. A jammer was deployed but proved unsuccessful, he said.

"A police helicopter and vehicles pursued a drone, but lost it after quite a few kilometres northward," Francken wrote on X.

The minister described the drones as large models and said that this was "not a regular overflight, but a clear mission with Kleine-Brogel as the objective." They had flown at a high altitude, he said. Investigations are ongoing.

Drones have been spotted over the base before. Francken said on Saturday that he would meet police next week to analyse the threat and take the necessary steps to find and arrest the drone pilots.

News agency Belga also reported, citing police sources, that a drone was also spotted over Antwerp Airport on Saturday.

The military base in Kleine-Brogel in the region of Flanders was part of the annual NATO manoeuvre in October for the defence of the alliance's territory with nuclear weapons, involving about 2,000 military personnel.

According to unconfirmed reports, the airbase is one of the locations in Europe where US nuclear weapons are stored.

MIA file photo