Belgium buys Latvian-made drone interceptors after string of incursions

Belgium has struck a deal to buy Latvian-made drone interceptors, the defence ministry said, after a series of incursions near Belgian airports, military bases, and a nuclear plant.

The Belgian defence ministry said the defensive kamikaze drones will be acquired from Latvian company Origin Robotics as part of a €50 million anti-drone package. It's unclear how much of that money will go to the firm, and how many units have been ordered.

The purchase comes after drone sightings forced the temporary closure of Belgium’s main international airport at Brussels and Liege, one of Europe’s biggest cargo airports, earlier this month. Those incursions followed a string of unidentified drone flights near a military base in the city of Marche-en-Famenne, where US nuclear weapons are stored.

Officials in Belgium, including Defence Minister Theo Francken, have said they suspect Russia is responsible for the drone incursions. Moscow has denied any involvement.

On Monday, Francken travelled to Latvia, where he announced the deal to buy the BLAZE drones from Origin Robotics.

"Pleasure to be in Riga to meet our Latvian partners, from whom we will procure interceptor drones," he wrote on X, with a photo of him holding a drone at the company's factory. "Step by step, we’re making Belgium more resilient against modern threats."

According to Origin Robotics' website, the AI-powered BLAZE is a "man-portable, rapidly deployable interceptor designed to defeat fast-moving aerial threats".

In addition to the €50 million package, Francken said the defence ministry was planning to invest €500 million in a long-term, comprehensive anti-drone strategy. This will include advanced radar systems and expanded jamming capabilities.

Following the recent incursions in Belgium, the country has also enlisted the support of anti-drone teams from France, Germany and the UK to provide equipment and training.

Belgium is home to the headquarters of NATO and the EU, as well as Europe's biggest financial clearinghouse, Euroclear, which holds tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets.

Francken told local media earlier this month that he believed Belgium was being closely watched because of those assets.

Several EU countries want to use those assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine. Brussels has so far resisted, and Moscow has promised to retaliate if it happens.

Beyond Belgium, drones have forced airports across Europe to suspend flights in recent months, with Russian hybrid warfare operations said to be behind some of the incidents.