The Belgian Defence Ministry is to purchase an unspecified number of counter-drone drones (also known as kamikaze drones) from a company in Lativia. Conter-drone are small drone that can smash into other drones that, for example, are flying uninvited above a military base. They are equipped with radar and a small camera so that they can detect enemy drones.
The Latvian company Origin Robotics develops advanced drones and counter-drone systems. The counter-drones use technology that is currently being used in the war in Ukraine. The device is said to be manoeuvrable, fast and accurate. The Latvian counter-drones will be the final piece in a new system the Belgian military will use to spot, recognise and track drones. The counter-drones will be used to intercept and take out drones that are flying where the shouldn’t be.
The country-drone system will be made up of detection systems, anti-drone jammers, anti-drone guns and, of course, the Blaze interceptor drones from Latvia.
The intention is that what is seen as a quick fix will provide a rapid response to the recent series drone sightings above airports and military bases in Belgium. The Federal Government is allocating 50 million euro to system.
In a statement the Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken (Flemish nationalist) said "I have now been a minister for 9 months. However, the threat from drones is not something that has come about only during the past 9 months. We are now taking step to catch up with regard to this”.
The Federal Government is planning a more extensive and much more expensive counter-drone package for the future, including advanced radar systems and additional jamming capacity. 50 million euro from the defence budget has already been allocated to this.
The aim is for Belgium strengthen its resilience against the growing threats posed by drones and significantly modernise its defence capabilities.